Animals Illustrated: Ringed Seals

by William Flaherty, Sara Otterstatter (Illustrator )

Animals Illustrated mixes fun-filled animal facts suitable for the youngest of readers with intricately detailed illustrations to create a unique and beautiful collection of children’s non-fiction books about Arctic animals. Each volume contains first-hand accounts from authors who live in the Arctic, along with interesting facts on the behaviours and biology of each animal. In this book, kids will learn what ringed seals eat, where they live, how they raise their babies, and other interesting facts, like how deep they can dive and how they are amazing diggers!

Genres: Animals

28 pages, Hardcover

Published June 7, 2022

Reviews

[Rebecca Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading books about wildlife, and this was a fun one to read through! Get to know Ringed Seals better than you ever thought with this amazing book!

From their young, to diet, living, and predators that eat the seal, this book gives you a great insight into the lives of the Ringed Seal.

Perfect for young readers, and adult readers who want a jumping-off point! I will be sharing this one with my boys!

Perfection in a book!

[Join the Penguin Resistance! · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adults can learn from Nonfiction books for children too. I found this adorably-illustrated chapter book educational, important because despite the fact that this species is Arctic-dwelling, I knew little to nothing beforehand about Ringed Seals. Middle grades and upper Elementary ages will be able to read for themselves, and younger children can enjoy the clever illustrations as an adult or older child reads aloud the text. Quite recommended.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

As another reviewer mentioned, this informative book is a great introduction to animals living in the Arctic. I've enjoyed every book in this particular series because of the simplicity and directness of the text and the softly-colored, detailed illustrations. In this book, readers learn about ringed seals. where they live, various body parts and adaptations that make it possible for them to survive in the Arctic, what they eat, how they care for their young, and predators they need to avoid. Additionally, the book provides information about their intelligence and the many uses Inuit have for their meat, bones, and skins. Most interestingly, these seals send air bubbles into their breathing holes before venturing out in case there are predators awaiting them. The text is accompanied by impressive artwork with my favorite double-page spread showing several ringed seals basking in the sun atop ice and snowbanks. Even the endpapers contain images of these beautiful creatures as well as other Arctic inhabitants. Teachers will want to add this slim volume and the others in the series to their science classroom collection as the books are written by individuals who live in the Arctic and know their topics well.

[Olivia]

See my full review here: https://www.yabookscentral.com/animal...

RINGED SEAL is an intriguing introduction to the animal. The book discusses key facts about their activites, such as their breathing holes, their skeleton and blubber, and other information about predators. The book concludes by discussing what humans use them for, such as food, sealskin tents, and seal bone games.

What I loved: The illustrations throughout are really elegant and capture the seals really well. Basic facts about them are also really interesting and will appeal to children who want to learn more.

What left me wanting more: The facts included are pretty limited, and they seem really basic overall. They will work for younger children, but are written in large paragraphs which might be better for older readers. The human use sections feel a bit too large, showing a hunter with a gun for intelligence and talking about their intelligence as it relates to hunting. Considering that they are mostly threatened or endangered, a focus on hunting was a bit tough, but of course, they have cultural context for the Inuit.

Final verdict: Overall, RINGED SEAL is a simple non-fiction book about ringed seals with lovely illustrations.

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book contains interesting information about ringed seals, their habitat, their hunting, and their young pups. There are two to three paragraphs of information in each section, giving tidbits of information like how the seals have a layer of blubber fat that keeps them warm. Seals are intelligent and good at swimming away from predators like polar bears. They have strong claws on their front flippers for digging their way out of the ice. There is even a section about how Inuit tribes will use seal meat for food and make sealskin boots.

I love the warm artwork in this book! It really makes it enjoyable to read and see these wild animals illustrated in their wilderness home. It immediately captured my attention!

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

A decent and quick look at the ringed seal, from its range and diet to life cycle – which might end up with it being stew. Yes, you have to accept these Inuit animal guides are going to mention the critters' use, and this does so more than most, as hunting by humans is mentioned several times. (To be fair, it is quite repetitive and so a lot of its contents are mentioned several times, but you get my meaning.) Like all in this series, it's well-illustrated, and fine – especially, but not exclusively, for the communities who live alongside these beasties.

[Bel ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a sweet, short, informative read on Ringed Seals. I learnt a lot from this short non-fiction number, as i did not know much, if anything, about ringed seals prior to picking up this book. I think this book would work wonderfully for all age groups. I can picture adults sitting down with this book, teaching young children of ringed seals before bed. In fact, I can picture all age groups learning something from this book as I did, and the illustrations by Sara Otterstätter are the icing on the cake as the illustrations are not only relevant to the content being explored, they are also impeccable to look at at the same time. Whether you pick this up with the intention of learning about ringed seals, teaching others, or if you simply want to look at the pictures, I feel as though everyone will gain something from this short book.
Thankyou Edelweiss and the publisher for a review copy!

[A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very strong nonfiction title that centers traditional Inuit uses for ringed seals (food, clothing, etc.) in addition to scientific facts.