How Many Ways Can You Catch a Fly?

by Steve Jenkins, Robin Page

Flies are fast! They can hover, walk upside down, and use their lightning-quick reflexes to escape predators. But rainbow trout, slender lorises, and assassin bugs can catch them. Chimney swifts can, too. How do such diverse creatures manage to capture the same prey? Similar in structure to What Do You Do with a Tail Like This?, this eye-popping picture book introduces readers to a menagerie of animals that approach the same challenges in very different ways.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Animals, Science, Childrens, Nature

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 6, 2008

About the author

Steve was born in 1952 in Hickory, North Carolina. His father, who would become a physics professor and astronomer (and recently his co-author on a book about the Solar System), was in the military and, later, working on science degrees at several different universities. We moved often. Steve lived in North Carolina, Panama, Virginia, Kansas, and Colorado. Wherever he lived, he kept a menagerie of lizards, turtles, spiders, and other animals, collected rocks and fossils, and blew things up in his small chemistry lab.

Because he moved often, Steve didn't have a large group of friends, and he spent a lot of time with books. His parents read to him until he could read himself, and he became an obsessive reader.

His interest in science led me to believe that I'd be a scientist himself. At the last minute, he chose instead to go to art school in North Carolina, where he studied graphic design. After graduation he moved to New York City, where he worked in advertising and design, first in large firms and then with his wife, Robin Page, in their own small graphic design firm. Robin, also an author and illustrator, is his frequent collaborator — they've made sixteen children's books together.

Their daughter Page was born in 1986 and our son, Alec, two years later. They began reading to them when they were just a few months old, and Steve became interested in making children's books himself. My wife and I read to our two older children almost every night until hisdaughter was 12 or 13, long after they were reading on their own. It was, in many ways, the best part of the day.

In 1994 they moved to from New York City to Boulder, Colorado, where they work in a studio attached to their house, which was built in the 1880s and often functions as if it were still the 19th century.

Their youngest son, Jamie, was born in 1998. The questions his children asked over the years have been the inspiration for many of their books.

Librarian's Note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Moonkiszt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Featured in a grandma reads session.

We were amused at the idea that all these creatures had flies for dinner, and their various methods of consumption. Interesting to visit all these animals at dinner time.

We then launched into a post-read discussion of books we could write about creatures who eat what we do, or would if they could. Like carrots, pudding and PIZZA! (yelled Arthur). So we all came up with pizza chomping creatures - deer playing cards over a Hawaiian pizza, sharks that gave up beach trolling for the all-meat offering at Papa John's and squirrels sprinkling pine nuts on their cheese only pies. Laughs all around.

[Angie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just really love Steve Jenkins. His art is amazing ... and your non-fiction lovers will go crazy over his topics. He "gets" some of the weird things kids are interested in ...in this case what animals eat, how eggs hatch, different ways to dig a hole, etc.

[Tricia Douglas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by Steve Jenkins and his wife Robin Page. This book allows children (and adults) a discovery into how animals catch food and use nature to stay alive. Jenkins' beautiful illustrations make all of his books one to have for your bookshelf. In addition the information provided for each animal is well-researched, unique, and gives you mportant facts to file away in your own brain! I have found all of his books so wonderful I have purchased my own copies. These are books definitely useable for second grade on up. They are great for science lessons especially.

[Sunday · Rating 4 out of 5]

How many ways can you snare a fish?
How many ways can you hatch an egg?
How many ways can you use a leaf?

And more.

Jenkins asks the question and when the reader turns the page, there's a two-page layout describing how each animal in a diverse group accomplishes that feat. GREAT for COMPARING AND CONTRASTING!

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good children's book, nominated for Young Hoosier Award. Non-fiction with some good gross-out science about fantastic animals. Would be better with photos rather than drawings, but they don't pay me to make THOSE decisions.

[Stefanie Burns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice picture books with interesting facts about animals. Might be a little too text heavy for younger readers, but a great picture book to use with upper elementary when introducing a unit on animals. Jenkins always delivers interesting facts and a good picture book.

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a great informative journey, meeting many types of animals and learning about some fun facts that make them special. The illustrations look like collages with colorful, textured paper. The book is called, “How many ways to catch a fly”, and each one of the animals are pictured near a fly and look to be aiming to catch a fly. It leads into “how many ways can you dig a hole?”, showing various animals digging…to then “How many ways can you eat a clam?”

[Justin Dolezal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about all the different ways animals catch their prey. It is fun to read because of all the different ways animals can catch flies and all the adaptations they have made to make it easier for them. Fun and exciting read to teach the younger children with, could be used in the classroom to have the students recreate the ways the animals catch flies.

[December SIrmans · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good book for teaching. The book demonstrates different category of animals that all do the same thing. For example the book uses different types of animals that lay eggs and different types of animals that use leafs.

[December Sirmans · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good book for teaching. The book demonstrates different category of animals that all do the same thing. For example the book uses different types of animals that lay eggs and different types of animals that use leafs.

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating book of animal peculiarities and amazing abilities. Great illustrations.

[Justice · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to the animal kingdom for small children. This book will probably have them asking even more questions about nature.

[Hannah Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written by the same author who wrote the egg, tail, and eye books. I could use all of these books in the same lesson to talk about how animals sometimes do the same thing a different way and for different reasons.

[Tess · Rating 4 out of 5]

****K-5. Houghton Mifflin Company. Boston, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-618-96634-9. $17.55. In How Many Ways Can You Catch A Fly, Jenkins and Page explore six questions that will ignite a passion for the natural world. Each themed section has the same design, beginning with a question in large bold print: "How many ways can you snare a fish?";... hatch an egg; ...use a leaf;... catch a fly; ... dig a hole; and, lastly, "How many ways can you eat a clam?". At the bottom of the page are six small illustrations; for example, in the first section one finds a matamata, a dolphin, a grizzly, an eel, a diving beetle, and an anhinga. The reader's eye is compelled by the fish on the adjacent page looming large in a white background. Upon turning the page, a double-paged spread offers larger illustrations of three of the animals to the left and three to the right free floating in white space. The text,curved or jagged or circling the animal, describes how this particular animal answers the question. Each section addresses an ingenious adaptation. For example: A diving beetle dives for a fish by using a tiny bubble of air; a whelk eats a clam with a slender drill that enters the clam shell, killing the clam before sucking it up. Jenkins' cut and torn collages reveal subtleties such as the light reflected in a tailorbird's eyes, and the transparency of a fly's wing over the fine hairs on its back. Not useful as a quick reference guide as there is no index, however, this book will illicit interest in further research. Illustrated end notes in small font, organized by book section, offer information about each animal's habitat, size, and/or other distinctive qualities. Contains a well-regarded bibliography. Other works in a similar vein are Jenkins' Biggest, Strongest, Fastest and What Do You Do When Something Wants to Eat You?

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

In their sixth collaboration, Steve Jenkins and Robin Page have created another stunning picture book about the amazing natural world. Each section explains a common problem and how different animals have adapted masterful ways to solve these challenges of survival. Each section begins with a problem, such as; "How many ways can you use a leaf?" The introductions include small illustrations of various animals encouraging the reader to find out more about them. The two-page spread that follows shows these animals in the act of solving the problem. For example we learn that "using her sharp beak and silk from a spider's web, a tailorbird sews a leaf into a pouch that will hold her nest and eggs." The cut and torn paper collage illustrations are almost three dimensional as the brightly colored animals on the white background seem to pop off each page. The text is uniquely placed next to the animals. Using the example of the tailorbird, the text is placed in a zig-zag pattern that represents the beak of the bird. Although some of the vocabulary may hinder beginning readers (i.e.; "stealthily", "excavating", "amplifying"), it may also encourage students to access the dictionary and even a thesaurus. The authors have included information pages and a short bibliography at the end of the book. Similar to their other titles such as; Living Color, and Sisters and Brothers, this book is written in a way that will excite the reader to learn more about the animal world. It would be an excellent read-aloud for primary grade students to begin a unit about animal adaptations and encourage them to seek out little known information about animals as they begin independent research. Older students might enjoy the book independently as they peruse the story and read the additional fact pages at the end.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book presents a number of challenges animals face along with their unique methods for solving the problem. For example, one challenge is digging holes. Readers are presented with the question, "How many ways can you dig a hole?" When you turn the page, there is a two-page spread showing how different animals dig holes. There is an aardvark making burrows with his front legs and claws, a Mexican burrowing toad digging into mud with its feet, a red rock urchin wearing away rock or coral with its teeth, and more.

Other challenges presented in the book include catching flies, snaring fish, hatching eggs, using leaves, and eating clams. At the end of the book, readers can learn even more about each animal featured.

Accompanying the fact-filled text are Jenkins' customary colorful paper collage illustrations. I never fail to be amazed at how he captures so many details and facial expressions with the collages.


This is a book that I highly recommend to children who are interested in animals, and it would make an excellent cross-curricular resource for science, geography, social studies, and language arts lessons. It may also inspire young readers to come up with creative ways of solving their own problems after seeing how the animals in book do it.

[Kylee Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This clever book discusses the many ways that animals catch their food. The title is a bit deceiving because this book is about many different food sources, not just flies. Many animals eat fish, and each of them has a different way of catching these fish. Many animals eat eggs, and each of them has a different way of catching these eggs. Some animals eat clams, and they all have their own ways of opening the shell to catch the clam. This book also includes different ways that animals use leaves; shelter, food source, bug repellent. It also mentions many ways and reasons animals dig holes! This is a great fact book for anyone interested in the way animals do things.

I would use this book to discuss using descriptive language. Writers use descriptive language to interest readers as well as paint a picture in the mind of the reader. This book is an awesome example of descriptive writing. Each fact is drawn out in a very descriptive way using words that really paint that picture inside your head. Students can see the description used in this book and implement that kind of language in their own writing pieces.

[Charlyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve Jenkins and Robin Page have once again crafted an outstanding science book using cut/torn paper collage. The title question and several others are answered showing the varied ways well-known and not-so-familiar animals perform the same task. While the questions are answered with the pictures and shorter answers in the body of the book, each animal is pictured again at the end of the book with more specific information.

This is a book students will enjoy poring over, for both the information and the intricacies of the illustrations. Teachers will find it a good introduciton to a science unit on adaptations.

[Yahya Han · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think that this book would be the best example for teaching science through non-fiction picture books. Firstly, it has very living pictures and they make this book more interesting. Also, Hurst suggests that use this book in an animal science unit. This is also a great book to use in the art curriculum to inspire paper collages and to show the possible range of effects, from fine cut details to soft fur. You can't spend much time with this book without trying to make the moist, shiny eyes of the loris on the cover.

[Glenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a non fiction book geared towards nursery and primary school children. It provides a variety of different animal facts that are obscure, yet intriguing. The illustrator uses torn paper to create the artwork that accompanies the facts in this book. The torn paper adds intricate detail to the animals, emphasizing their realistic appearance. This book is extremely helpful to an outdoor classroom such as mine; the amazing facts it provides keeps the students interested and asking more and more questions about the world we live in and the creatures we live with.

[Cindi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hooray for fun non-fiction books! I sat with my five year old to read this book which is just as entertaining, if not more than many fiction picture books! There were things I knew and things I did not know about the animal world. The pictures were just great. There's plenty of information in the main part of the book, but if you want to explore the animals mentioned further, the end of the book contains more information.

[babyhippoface · Rating 5 out of 5]

Steve Jenkins' illustrations are always amazingly detailed, making each of his books worth a look. Educational as well, this title shows how different members of the animal kingdom accomplish the same task in a variety of ways, from catching flies to digging holes to hatching eggs (and some of it is just...ick) and more. Jenkins & Page are always a sound investment for the science shelves.

[Marni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another fun Jenkins books. Explores the different 'talents' of animals like how they catch flies, hatch eggs, use leaves, dig a hole, etc. I love how they share the information in a fresh and fun way.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to share with children. I like these kind of nonfiction books--basic interesting information is provided in a brief, upbeat manner, with more detailed information in the back for families who want to pursue the subject a bit more.

[James Vickery · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be great for a second or third grade classroom. The book gives many animals that survive by catching flies. The book can be used to tap into the food chain understanding. The book has some surprising animals that catch flies. This book will be sure to keep children engaged.

[The Library Lady · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating information and eye catching art.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Jenkins' books. I like to read them while seated at the computer, so I can google for more images/info on the the animals he features.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was the Planet's Most Extreme Animals as a book. We all loved it because the art is awesome and the critters were almost all new to us.

[Emerson School Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

January 2011: shared with 4/5th grades in their nonfiction unit - they loved it!

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that it showed what all these animals can do to have a good life.