Steve Jenkins

Evelyn M. Finnegan Children’s Literature Lecture Series Featuring Steve Jenkins

To celebrate, this week’s blog entry spotlights three of Jenkins’s current books:

The Animal Book: A Collection of the Fastest, Fiercest, Toughest, Cleverest, Shyest – and Most Surprising Animals on Earth

Animals Upside Down: A Pull, Pop, Lift, & Learn Book
Written and Illustrated by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Books for Young Readers, 2013

All Ages

Book Review

Husband and wife author/illustrator team Steve Jenkins and Robin Page literally flip how we view animals in the remarkable interactive nonfiction concept book, Animals Upside Down. The motif this time is the topsy-turvy world that is part of animals’ daily lives. The flamingo feeds with its head turned upside-down. The hanging parrot dangles upside-down while it sleeps. The striped skunk does a handstand to warn others that if attacked, it will release its infamous, toxic spray.  Full of tabs to pull, folds to flip,  flaps to lift, and designs to pop-up, this book offers readers a new angle for learning about species both familiar and new. Though not thoroughly simple, the text is clear and provided in digestible chunks. Animals are organized according to how their inclination to invert themselves helps their everyday survival so readers can draw comparisons across them. Back matter includes a double-page spread of all the animals presented, with small blurbs of further information about their habitats and other behaviors. And as always, Jenkins and Page’s vibrant cut- and torn-paper collages layer even more detail to marvel at and study. Perfect for read-alouds and independent exploration for readers of all ages.

Eye to Eye: How Animals See the World
Written & Illustrated by Steve Jenkins
Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Forthcoming 2014
ISBN 978-0–547-95907-8

All Ages
 
Book Review
Did you know that “for more than three billion years, all living things were blind?” Eye to Eye, Jenkins’s forthcoming picture book about animal vision, takes the reader around the world with an up-close examination of nature’s diverse array of eyeballs, from those that “look in two directions at once” to those “the size of the basketball.” After a brief introduction devoted to the significance of animal vision, Jenkins provides his readers with an overview of the evolution of the eyeball, and the four primary categories of eyeballs. Moving from blurry to sharp, the book starts off with eyes that provide limited forms of vision, and concludes with those that are extremely precise, even at a distance, such as those of the Eurasian buzzard. Each new animal is introduced via a catchy phrase or question, and while a first read might lead one to think that the different animals are simply juxtaposed across the two-page spread, there are important connections to be made across the gutter. Back matter includes a more in-depth examination of the evolution of the eye, an “Animal Facts” chart for all the animals mentioned in the book, and a glossary of terms along with a bibliography. With an artful understanding of the potential of the concept picture book as both a teaching tool and art form, Jenkins continues to guide his young readers towards deeper understanding of the natural world with this latest. (Review of an Uncorrected Proof)

Teaching Invitations: Ideas for Your Classroom
  
Grades PreK – 2

• Writing Animal Books. Read aloud several of Steve Jenkins’s shorter books, such as What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? and Move. Set up a book-making table where students have materials to create their own books using Jenkins’s work as a mentor students. Make sure you have a range of his books.Support early writers to notice features of the book design and organization, such as the title and the headings he uses. Encourage students to study his illustrations as scientists and to model their drawings after Jenkins’s, paying close attention to the shapes and colors he uses to depict animals as they are in nature. Build in time at the end of each day or at the end of the week for students to share their animal books so that they learn about each other’s writing choices and interests in animals.

• Color, Texture, and Shape: Illustrating Nonfiction. Jenkins’s work is remarkable for its realism. Invite your students to work in the medium of collage either to create a class constructed mural or an illustration for a nonfiction text they are writing as a group or individually. Gather together a collection of textured papers in a variety of colors and styles (recruit the assistance of the art teacher in your school). Provide students with the opportunity to collect and work from multiple photo images of the animal that they plan to illustrate, as does Jenkins. Talk with the students about the colors and textures they observe in the animal’s body structure. Capitalize on this opportunity for vocabulary development, encouraging students to use precise terms when describing the animal.
• Celebrating the Writing Process. The back matter of The Animal Bookoffers readers the gift of an insider’s view to Jenkins’s writing process. Young writers will be impressed by the length of time and number of process steps that are involved in the creation of a nonfiction picture book. After reading pages 193 – 204, you can also visit the author’s website to view a short video that depicts the illustration process. Compare Jenkins’s process to those described by Melissa Stewart, Loree Burns, Pamela Turner, and Sally Walker (select authors whose work is age appropriate for your students).