Pink is for Blobfish (review)

TITLE:   Pink is for Blobfish: Discovering the World’s Perfectly Pink Animals 

AUTHOR:  Jess Keating

PUBLISHER:  Alfred A. Knopf

COPYRIGHT DATE:  2016

AGE RANGE:  7-11 years

LEXILE LEVEL:  NC1040L

ACCELERATED READER:  1.0 point

SUMMARY:

          If you think pink is only for bubblegum and princess dresses—it’s time to rethink pink.  Pink is for blobfish and pygmy seahorses and naked mole rats and hairy squat lobsters.  Pink is used to camouflage predators and prey.  Pink is also used to draw attention to itself. 

            This book is also full of interesting animal facts, such as:  “If a (pink) sea star comes across prey that is too big to fit in its mouth, it will stick its stomach out through its mouth, wrap it around its meal, digest it, and then draw the goopy, digested mass back into its body.” (p 23)

CRITIQUE:   

         

          Great photos!  This book was a great mix of animal facts and humor.

REVIEW:

          Kirkus states, “These texts will challenge the intended audience. They’re full of interesting but likely unfamiliar terms: carrion, deforestation, eusocial, negative phototaxis. These are printed in boldface in the text and defined in context and in a glossary. There are helpful suggestions for further research... An intriguing approach for animal-fact enthusiasts.”  (Kirkus, 2015, Nov. 15)

AWARDS:

• “A Monarch Award Nominee (2018, Illinois)
• School Library Journal’s ‘Fuse Eight’ Best Science and Nature Book (2016)
• A Wisconsin State Reading List Committee Favorite (2017)
• An Amazon ‘Best Book of the Year so far’ Pick (2016)” (Keating, J. n.d. 

RELATED MATERIAL:

Guiberson, B. Z. (2015). The Most Amazing Creature in the Sea. New York:  Henry Holt                  and Company.

          This book is sure to amaze young readers with its strange facts about ocean creatures.  It reiterates the fact that there are still so many creatures of the deep of which we have no knowledge…yet.  Sure to tantalize the curiosity of young inquisitive minds.

Roy, K. (2014). Neighborhood Sharks: Hunting with the Great Whites of California’s                          Farallon Islands. New York: David Macaulay Studio, Roaring Brook Press.

          For more information about oceanic animals, read Neighborhood Sharks.  This nonfiction book takes an in-depth look at the body mechanics of the Great White Shark as it hunts its favorite meal:  seals. 

Nivola, C. A. (2012). Life in the Ocean: The Story of Oceanographer Sylvia Earle. New                 York: Frances Foster Books, Farrar Straus Giroux.

          For young readers curious about studying ocean life, read about Sylvia Earle, who began her life of studying the ocean when she was a child living near its coast. 

REFERENCES:

Keating, J. (n.d.). Jess Keating: Author - Zoologist - Bookdragon. Retrieved from https://jesskeating.com/praise/

Kirkus Review. (2015, November 15). Pink is for Blobfish: Discovering the World’s Perfectly Pink Animals. Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/jess-keating/pink-is-for-blobfish/