From the pair that brought you Genius Noses, comes another fascinating and beautifully illustrated book about ears, what we know and what we wonder about them. Filled with physical descriptions of animals (from six continents and the Pacific Ocean) and their behaviors , they’re divided into seven groups: Long-eared, big-eared, tuft-eared, goblin-eared, hidden-eared, sometimes red-eared (including humans), and faux-eared. It’s expository nonfiction at its best, fascinating, playful, and well-researched.
For example, in the spread about the Fennec, the smallest species of fox from North Africa, readers learn about how they live, how they structure their hierarchy (through play!), and how they use their ears. As a side note, readers learn that the ears of animal in hot climates tend to be larger than those in cold climates, because larger ears help animals keep cool, while small ears prevent the loss of body heat. But no one knows the purpose behind the fold at the edge of the Fennec’s ears.
Other featured animals include ones that eat dung beetles and their larvae (ewwww), ones that make ultrasonic cries that humans can’t hear, ones that swivel their ears while running to confuse predators, ones that use their ears to express emotions, ones that rely on their sense of smell and hearing because they’re nearly blind, ones with the biggest ears in the world (can you guess?), ones with spots on their ears that look like eyes….
When I was a kid, I would have kept this book next to my bed for reading every night at bedtime, and then dreamed of seeing these animals someday. Here’s one I did end up meeting as an adult. It jumped on my shoulder on night when I was walking to dinner at a nature preserve in South Africa. It’s name was Pookie, and it scared the living daylights out of me, because it was so unexpected.
The faux-eared category is inspired, because there are animals that have what look like ears, but are really something else. It’s a terrific lesson in how appearances can lead to incorrect conclusions. In other words, be accurate with your science!!
Back matter includes a glossary; infographics about acoustic range and the anatomy of the ear; an interesting tidbit about how human ears compare to that of the bat; sources and notes about the information contained in the book, and an index with species’ names. The end papers are once again used to show where each animal is located and how their sizes compare to that of humans. Maybe this pair will be inspired to write books about mouths and eyes, too. I hope so!
This will be a terrific book to add to your animal adaptation collection (or bedside table). It’s scheduled for publication in September, 2024.
Activities:
Watch this video from the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago to learn more about animal ears.
Watch this video by Crash Course Zoology about the science behind hearing and how different kinds of animals hear, including insects.
Onomatopoeia is the poetic term for words that sound like what they’re describing. Examples include words like crackle, boing, woof, zap, and gargle. Sit in a place that’s filled with sounds, and listen. Write a poem trying to describe what you hear, using as much onomatopoeia as possible. If someone else were to read the poem, would they be able to guess what you were listening to?
Title: Genius Ears: A Curious Animal Compendium
Author: Lena Anlauf
Illustrator: Vitali Konstantinov
Translator: Marshall Yarbrough
Publisher: NorthSouth, 2024 (September)
Themes: animal adaptations, ears, hearing, STEM
Ages: Elementary school
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