Whose Poop Is That?

Although animals in nature can most readily be identified by sight, evidence of their presence can also be found in the scat they leave behind. Lunde leverages children's fascination with poop to introduce how these identifications are made. In a series of four-page sequences, the title question is asked: "Whose poop is that?" alongside a facing, up-close illustration of animal scat and a sentence pointing out key features. Turn the page, and the animal is revealed, along with brief additional information. For example: "Whose poop is that? / It has bits of bone and a tuft of fur in it. // A red fox's. / A red fox eats small mammals and birds. It crunches their bones and swallows their fur or feathers." Others include a panda, gull, and even the fossilized scat of the extinct ground sloth; one of the sequences breaks the pattern somewhat with a slightly different question ("Is that a poop?") to feature a regurgitated owl pellet. Both the text and digitally colored pen-and-ink illustrations appear simpler than they are: they are accurate, and include just enough detail to highlight the keys to identification while remaining friendly and inviting to novice naturalists. A spread of additional bulleted facts is appended. danielle j. ford