Orangutans Are Ticklish: Fun Facts from an Animal Photographer

by Jill Davis, Jill Davis

In this knockout book of animal photographs, perfect for the youngest animal lover, you'll discover all sorts of things. Did you know that orangutans are ticklish ? Yes, they are—just like you and me. But be careful if you ever see a hippo yawning. It doesn't mean he's sleepy—it means he wants to fight.

The gorgeous up-close pictures and fascinating facts are complemented by behind-the-scenes peeks at how animal photographs are taken. (For instance, photographer Steve Grubman once had to lull a cow to sleep with soft music!) Animal lovers, young scientists, and budding photographers will all adore this beautiful nonfiction book.


From the Hardcover edition.

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

40 pages, Library Binding

First published June 8, 2010

Reviews

[Todd · Rating 2 out of 5]

I give this a rating of "it was ok" because it was hard to separate the exceptionally strong photography of Steve Grubman, and the random, quite limpid animal facts provided by Jill Davis. In a way, I don't quite understand why Grubman even needed Davis, considering the material she provided the book. Another strike against it is the aimless format and randomness of the animals chosen. Clearly Grubman's excellent, Nic Bishop-level animal photography deserves a vehicle to push it out to a wide viewership, but this is simply not it. Not entirely worthless, but definitely a supplement to other, better realized productions.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steve Grubman is an animal photographer. He shares photographs he has taken of a wide variety of animals including a coatimundi, zebra, tiger, kangaroo, chimpanzee and of course, an orangutan (and several more). he writes a bit about the process of photographing each animal, gives some interesting facts about the animal and even shares some fun stories. The photos are the highlight of the book, but the writing was engaging and interesting as well.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Features animal photos taken in a studio by Steve Grubman. In addition to learning about the various animals, readers get short behind-the-scenes information about how the photo shoot went.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

What’s good about it: The strong photographs capture animals’ expressions and personalities beautifully. Very basic facts about the species pictured are included on the pages. Parallels between certain species’ behavior and our own are noted. For instance, we read that “Elephants like to have fun, but they also take care of each other lovingly,” with a description of a herd slowing down so an injured elephant can keep up.

What’s not so good: The animal facts presented are rather generic and well-known, which may bore older readers. Profiles of the individuals being photographed would have been more interesting. The animals are photographed in a brightly lit studio, instead of surroundings in which they may feel more at home. The text states of coatis, an animal in the raccoon family, “Lots of people have coatis as pets. You can take them on walks.” No commentary on the issues involved in keeping wildlife as pets is offered.

[W · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have some mixed feelings about this book. I loved the design and the little personal asides from the photographer, and some of the pictures were amazing, particularly those of the tiger and orangutan. However, some pictures were surprisingly blurry, like the kangaroo, giraffe and zebra. Most of the animals except the aardvark and coati are pretty well known, and I wish there had been more variety. And I didn't like the mention of keeping coatis as pets without a reprimand about the dangers and ethics of exotic pets. Otherwise, a lot of fun facts that kids will enjoy learning.

[Kristen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The photos of these animals are amazing! Steve Grubman, the photographer, tells a bit about what it's like to be an animal photographer. Most of the book is basic facts about the animals he has photographed, like "giraffes have black tongues." Wish they'd told more about what it's like to be the photographer - I found it way more interesting to read about how he dangled raw meat on a string to get the alligator to sit still rather than read that the alligator's snout is wide and U-shaped.

[Mickey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has excellent photographs of exotic animals. I've used this book many times with small groups of elementary school children to practice their phonics and give them practice reading nonfiction materials. The subject holds their interest and the short reading selections give struggling readers just enough content to feel a sense of accomplishment. I would recommend this book for any resource teacher who is looking for authentic material to share with students.

[Kayce · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book written by an animal photographer, each page features a large picture and a paragraph of fun facts. He also adds his own comment about something that happened at the photo shoot. Great pictures of course, fun facts not just embedded in the paragraph but also can be found with some additional information at the end of the book. A nice non-fiction read.

[Lauren Owens · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is filled with photographs of real animals from all around the world. Each photo is followed by fun facts about that animal. For a language arts lesson, this book can be used for text using since the layout of the words and pictures are so unique and eye-catching. During book making time, this book can be put out as inspiration.
Recommended grade levels: P and up

[Lissa Davies · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must for any animal lover! Each 2 page spread has an inventive photograph of animal that captures their personality, accompanied by concise and entertaining text with snippets of information. Who knew that orangutans use big leaves as ponchos when it rains?? The photographer also has a comment on each page about the photo shoot.

Good to start off an animal unit for K-4

[Haydee Romero]

Orangatans are Tickilish is written by an animal photographer. The book contains actual photographs of the animals and facts. When introducing non-fiction text features this book would be a great example of captions. The author adds captions with things that happened during the photoshoot with the particular animal.

[Ellie Hipp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book filled with lots of random, sometimes silly, animal facts from the perspective of an animal photographer. It is a great read for little kids who are interested in different kinds of animals around the world. I would highly recommend keeping this book in an early elementary age classroom.

[Donalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Professional animal photographer, Steve Grubman, provides interesting facts about a variety of animals and his personal experiences while photographing everything from aardvarks to zebras. Fabulous photos on every page and additional facts included in the back.

[Libby · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great first book to read about animals. The pictures are great, and I love the little "behind the scenes" quotes about funny things the animals did around the photographer. There isn't a lot of information, but it's fun and great for youngest audiences.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seriously great photos and some interesting info along with it ... did you know a giraffe never takes a bath? The kids are going to go NUTS when they see this one!

[Kelly · Rating 2 out of 5]

The pictures were great and I loved the blurbs from the photographer, but the text left me wanting a little more.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great photos. Interesting facts. No overload. Perfect animal intro.

[BookKids · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fun-filled animal expose gives us the inside dirt ou our favorite animals, from the super shy aardvarks to the oh-so-ticklish orangutans. You might even pick up some cool new dance moves!

[Nancy Jo Lambert · Rating 4 out of 5]

http://ecslibrary.edublogs.org/2011/0...

[Maureen Schlosser]

Fantastic pictures-Inside information about photos.

[Danica Midlil · Rating 4 out of 5]

The anecdotes are great! The animal facts are pretty basic, but still neat for young kiddos.

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating facts about a dozen or so animals. Great photos, too.

[Abby Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

clear photos and a fun get to know you sort of dialogue

[Gillian Barto]

1. None
2. 1st grade
3. This book has pictures of different animals taken by an animal photographer. The pictures come with little facts about the animal shown. Animals are always a great character when it comes to childrens books.
4. I wanted to read this book just by the title. The pictures were beautiful and the facts were fun. This book would definitely go over well with a little classroom.
5. This book could be used in a lesson about animals. The children can do their own little book about animals and the facts they know about them.