Line Up!: Animals in Remarkable Rows

by Susan Stockdale

Line up for this fascinating exploration of animal behavior from an award-winning author-illustrator!

Much like humans, many animals line up for a variety of reasons. Rather than forming lines for the school bus or recess, the animals featured in Susan Stockdale’s book form lines for
-safety: baby Mallard ducklings follow their mother to the water for their first swim
-warmth: turtles climb into a stacked line for a better share of the sun’s rays
-navigation: Arctic wolves follow the prints in the snow left by the pack leader
-food: ants line up to follow the scent of their leader to food and safety
-travel: pink flamingos form a line to reduce wind resistance and fly more efficiently

Featuring birds, crustaceans, fish, insects, mammals, and reptiles from around the world, Line Up is a cozy and comforting book that reminds us of our similarities while illuminating some specific, distinctive behaviors.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Animals, Childrens, Stem

32 pages, Hardcover

Published January 10, 2023

About the author

Susan Stockdale, a former textile designer for the apparel industry, is the author-illustrator of critically acclaimed picture books that celebrate nature including Fabulous Fishes, Stripes of All Types and Fantastic Flowers. Her books have won a variety of awards such as the ALSC Notable Children’s Book, NCTE Notable Children’s Books in the Language Arts, NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K–12, and the Bank Street College of Education Best Children’s Books of the Year.
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Stockdale’s vibrant illustrations and engaging prose win praise. The Washington Post wrote “If the paintings are the feast, Stockdale’s words are the dessert.” Her most recent book is Don't Eat the Cleaners!
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Reviews

[The Silvan Reverie | Sarah Street]

Line Up! Is a fun nature nonfiction picture book for young children. I love the unique subject matter for a nonfiction book and the implementation is accessible and fun for young children. The rhyming text makes for a great read aloud. There is a wide variety of animal life represented and the back matter contains some additional detail about each animal. This is a fascinating and fun nature book for animal-loving children.

***Note: I was given a review copy of this book via Peachtree Publishing. Opinions are my own.

For more new and upcoming nature-based books for children in 2023 visit my blog post at:
https://thesilvanreverie.com/2023/04/...

[Erin Buhr]

Ah, lining up. Something with which we are all (unfortunately) familiar. It turns out some animals are as well. This nonfiction picture book, written in rhyme, shares examples of lines in nature. Elephants line up to walk through the savannah. Hermit crabs line up to exchange shells. Apparently, we are not alone in our tidy lines, there are a whole host of animals who use them as well. This would work well as a read aloud. The text has a gentle flow to its rhyme. The illustrations depict animals around the world in their neat little lines. A great nonfiction storytime book for preschoolers or kindergarten.

[Nora Nickum]

LINE UP! covers such an interesting topic: there are all kinds of reasons different species of animals travel, snuggle, or rest in rows. The text is perfectly rhymed, concise, and fun to read aloud. And the back matter is so well done - short and sweet and just the right amount of additional detail to complement the main text. Highly recommend!

[Sarah Alamer]

Dear Sarah, we are so proud of you for reading this wonderful book! You learned something special - animals line up to stay safe and help each other, just like when you line up at school. Baby ducklings follow their mommy to water, and wolves follow their leader in the snow. When you line up nicely with your friends, you're being smart like these amazing animals! Great job reading, sweetheart!

[Kelly]

The first thing I thought of was kids with autism lining up toys. I thought it was going down that path, but no, it's actually about how animals line up, but they don't always, so it's kind of a hit or miss book.

[Deidra Chamberlain]

Good read aloud and crisp illustrations. I prefer the back matter to be more integrated, similar to how it is done in Feathers Not Just for Flying with a different font, or a font in a different size, so it’s easy to read the book different ways depending on your audience.

[Sally]

A fun book about lining up.
After presenting a fun look at animal lines,
a short section addresses facts about the animals.

Stockdale acknowledges scientists at the Smithsonian institution's National Museu of Natural History for their helpful research.

[Madison LibraryBookFamily]

Animals all over the world line up in order to facilitate group movement. This book would be perfect for introducing animal movement. May be perfect for gym movement or introducing small children how to line up and walk together.
Walk like a penguin. Walk like a hermit crab. Etc.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss.

[Michelle Halber]

Bright pictures and informative text explaining how a variety of other creatures line up the way kids do in class.

[Sara]

I liked the facts at the end the most.

[Sarah]

Rhyming picturebook non-fiction

[Sally]

Children are forever lining up and this book shows them they are not so different from other animal friends.

[Mary]

Beautiful pictures show readers 12 different animals who walk together in rows. Which can you name?

[Kellee Moye]

This text is a nice introduction to animals that like to line up in nature, such as turtles that line on a log and shrews that hold onto tails as they go on adventures. The text itself is easy to read aloud and is fun and then there is extra info in the back matter about each of the creatures.