Supersquads! Animal Heroes

Gr 1-3–With colorful and engaging comic-book style illustrations and informative text, this book by the creators of Supermoms! and Superdads! shows several ways that animals successfully work together in achieving their goals. These “supersquads” succeed in communicating necessary information, providing leadership that focuses on group goals, dividing up the necessary tasks, and even partnering up with other species in a way that benefits everyone. An example of successful communication is that when a chickadee sees a predator and wants to warn the flock, it can make several different kinds of calls. A call with more dee-dee-dees at the end of the message indicates more danger. An example of successful leadership is the way every member of a beaver family contributes to building a dam and a lodge, putting aside food for winter and babysitting the young. This idea of working with others, which is clearly illustrated among animals, is then also suggested as having great application for humans. What a great concept, winningly persuasive! Words and illustrations provide information and amusement; useful back matter includes additional information and illustrations about different animal squads, related children’s books, and online and audiovisual resources. This makes it easy for teachers and librarians to extend the study of supersquads to many different animals.