The best way to educate young readers is to provide picture books that are so irresistible that kids feel a compulsion to pick them up and read them. Here are some educational picture books that appear to accomplish just that feat.

The Quarto Group, under its imprint Happy Yak, has a trio of books that I, an adult, found absolutely irresistible. These three books about animals are so clever, so brilliantly conceived and executed, that I am insanely jealous of the creator, Philip Bunting. “The World’s Most Marvelous Ridiculous Animals (or are they?)” joins with “The World’s Most Fearsome Atrocious Animals (or are they?)” and “The World’s Most Wonderful Pointless Animals (or are they?)” to present colorful, humorous, and information-filled pages with facts and funny asides about a wide variety of creatures, from an earthworm (“Gross” and the fake Latin name “squiggleous wriggleous” are just two of the pieces of humor on this double page spread) to a narwhal (fake Latin name is “gnarleus megatoothface). We learn that the sea urchin is related to starfish and is omnivorous, and that the tapeworm can control minds (that will give me nightmares!). In addition to other important facts, there is plenty of fun as we learn that a sea urchin is a “terrible beach ball.” There is a Contents page (see below) and an Index at the end, so these also are great tools for teaching nonfiction book features to students. There are snarky (super funny snark) comments throughout, even on the page with the publication information. Next to Philip Bunting, the writer/illustrator’s copyright, is written “Never learned to read (but don’t tell anyone).” We are advised that a narwhal is “not a real unicorn.” I can’t imagine the time Bunting spent researching all these animals and then thinking of clever things to write about them. Seriously, just get these three books for your classroom, library, or home bookshelf. You’ll get hours of entertainment from them and learn a fact or three as well. I highly recommend these! (Quarto Books)

Another book about animals is David Opie’s lovely “All the Mammals in the World.” This brilliantly illustrated picture book, like the others in this series (“All the Birds in the World” and “All the Fish in the World”), presents one creature (a rodent ancestor) that leads us through the pages, commenting as we learn more about mammals. Readers will learn about mammals that live in the water, marsupials who give birth to frail babies who must stay in their mother’s pouch for protection until they grow more, and the exceptions to the rule that mammals give birth to live babies, “echidnas and duck-billed platypuses still lay eggs like their ancient ancestors” and like the Morganucodons, the cute weasel-like rodent that lived 200 million years ago who is our guide. Unlike the previous books, which kids will read in parts, this is a book that I envision being read at one sitting or as a read aloud. It’s like a story about different mammals, and at the end, Opie points out that we humans are mammals, too. Importantly, in A Note from the Author, he writes about global warming and climate change and urges readers to look at more resources about this subject. This would be a great book to read to a class before beginning a project for which students have to research a particular animal. It would definitely help kids get an overview of different types of mammals. In conjunction with the other books, Opie’s books would provide a great source of information and scaffolding for students. (Peter Pauper Press)

“Behold the Octopus!” is written by Suzanne Slade and illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez, who also illustrated one of my all-time favorite picture books, “14 Cows for America.” This book, unlike the previous ones, which cover many creatures, is dedicated solely to the octopus. The information is presented in a dual manner, with double page spreads containing two pieces of information in two different fonts. There is the large font of almost poetic words and descriptions of the octopus, sometimes only forming one word on a page. Often on the facing page is the factual information about the large font word. For example, “grasping” is the large font word on one page, and the facing page details the suction cups that allow the octopus to move rocks or catch food. Each informative passage is a paragraph filled with detailed information. The illustrations must be mentioned as they are, rather paradoxically, both realistic looking and extremely artistic and lovely. There is additional information at the end, a section titled “Learn More about the Octopus,” and a selected bibliography. (Peachtree)

The next two books combine nonfiction information and poetry. Each book presents that combination differently, but both are surprisingly effective and will be enjoyed by young readers and teachers alike.

“Galápagos: Islands of Change” by Leslie Bulion and illustrated by Becca Stadtlender is filled with brilliant colors and bright illustrations that frame the two sections of text. Most double pages feature a poem about the animals or an environmental feature with a nonfiction paragraph on the facing page complementing the information presented in the poem. The poems are all different, and at the end of the book there are typical nonfiction features like a glossary, a map of the islands with an inset showing where the islands are situated in the world, a species list, information for more reading, and perhaps most interesting to me, Poetry Notes. Here is where each poem is referenced with information about what kind of poem it is, along with information about the rhythm pattern. One of my favorites is the poem Prickly Pear Cactus, “inspired in form and meaning by the well-known sixteen-word poem “The Red Wheelbarrow,” written by poet William Carlos Williams.” A great activity my students loved was to create their own sixteen-word poem based on Williams’ poem. With this picture book, students could pick a different topic and create a new poem in that style. This is another picture book that would be great to read before studying animals and evolution. (Peachtree)

And this book, “Ice! Poems about Polar Life” by Douglas Florian, is simply brilliant. The illustrations are, in a sense, very rough and seem to be filled with movement. The facing pages with the poems and a paragraph about the topic are on brightly colored paper. The paper itself is shiny and thick, and it’s a pleasure to turn each page. The poems are the stars in this book, and they are clever. Reading them out loud is really an enjoyable activity. Here is one of them:
The Polar Regions
Two polar regions on our Earth,
and not a third or forth.
Antarctica is farthest south,
the Arctic farthest north.
The ends of Earth,
the most remote,
so far from the equator,
each pole’s a frosty, frozen place,
an Earth refrigerator.
Fun to read, right? Don’t miss out on getting this clever, clever book for your classroom or library. Kids will love it! Teachers will, too. I love it! (Holiday House)

Please note: This review is based on the final, hardcover books provided by the publishers for review purposes.