Fox Talk
How Some Very Special Animals Helped Scientists Understand Communication
by LE Carmichael; illustrated by Jody Bronson
Ashby-BP Publishing
Pub Date: Aug 25 2013
This is such a cute book, but it doesn’t pull punches when it comes to science! I suppose that is what I liked most about it. I learned a lot, and I’m sure children will as well.
I know when my son was young, I was very frustrated by kid’s books that I felt dumbed down science. I wanted books that didn’t pull punches, but that were considerate of children’s vocabulary deficits. This book doesn’t pull punches, and it teaches strong vocabulary carefully, giving explanations along the way. I LOVE that!
The book is about foxes in general, and then leads more specifically to a discussion about an experiment in Russia to tame foxes. In just a few generations of selective breeding, wild foxes grew more and more tame, and finally were tame and playful. The book talks about what they are like naturally, and through the process. It discussed Fox communication as well. It was very interesting that the most playful foxes had the tamest offspring!
I think this is a good selection for smart children that are interested in biology and science. The book really supports evolution too, in my opinion. It shows how in just a few generations of selective breeding, the captive foxes began to have more and more domesticated offspring.
The book has a lot of scientific terms, but it explains them all well in a manner that kids will understand. It could potentially launch a ton of conversations on evolution, the scientific process, animal husbandry, genetics, Russia, and more.
I didn’t have any trouble reading the text at all, and I loved the pictures of the foxes playing. The book gave the foxes names, which children will relate to. I found it delightful and intelligent.
Disclosure: I was provided an unfinished electronic galley copy for purposes of review via the publisher. This post does contain an affiliate link, however, Amazon has helped me arrange my account so that my payout can never be reached. I like the affiliate tools for the convenience only, it is never my intention to profit from my reviews of any item.
