Play Like an Animal!: Why Critters Splash, Race, Twirl, and Chase

This book works on so many levels. It's full of playful action vocabulary, a variety of animals from around the world, and embedded explanations that add more in-depth information regarding that featured animal.Animals love to play. As they do they learn to socialize and absorb survival skills. Through their playtimes they discover how to play fairly, co-operate, play by the rules and show compassion, just to name a few. Some of the animals are unfamiliar to me and I love that because I got to learn also as I was reading through. The author features: collared peccaries, rhinos, monkeys, ravens, river otters, dolphins, elephants, kangaroos, rats, owls, ungulates, gorillas, keas, and.....YOU!The illustrator uses paints, handmade textures and digital techniques to highlight where and how the animals celebrate their playfulness. To make the book interactive and even more fun she includes her own black dog in some of the illustrations. On her jacket-flap bio she encourages kids to find him. That's a fun feature.The author includes more in-depth, animals facts, and cites further reading opportunities to learn even more interesting facts at at the end of the book. I highly recommend it.

Play Like an Animal! by Maria Gianferrari is an beautifully illustrated children's book that teaches them about the way animals play and how that prepares them for life. There are a wide variety of animals showcased and in some cases, the situation can be used by children playing with their pets. Then of course, we can see that when children play, they are doing the same types of things as the animals and learning the same life skills. Through play they discover how to play fairly, co-operate, play by the rules and show compassion along with others. Once again, as an adult, I also learned a few things from this book along with my grandson. He also enjoyed the fun facts that were added to the illustrations. He was also able to read much of the book with me, which is also a bonus. My granddaughter who is younger, just loved the animals and what they were doing, so this book can be enjoyed by various ages. The illustrations were wonderful. They were colourful and full of action. I definitely recommend this one to families, classrooms and libraries. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book upon request. The rating, ideas and opinions shared are my own.

Whimsical words introduce how animals in the wild like to have fun while they're playing, just like kids like to play, too! This book is a fun ride around the world that introduces the child to all kinds of fun vocabulary, whether action words and adverbs or different kinds of animals that you don't traditionally find in children's books. I even learned about a few more. The illustrations are also really cute and attractive to kids. I like how there's also a little box that gives a bit more of a serious explanation about the animals' behavior in some cases. If you really want to know more, there's a lot more information in the back. It's really a lot of fun to read out loud and would be a fun addition to a classroom library.Thank you to the publisher for fulfilling my review request via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley and Learner Books for early access to this ARC in return for an unbiased and voluntary review.I love books that bring a vocabulary focus to help kids learn! This book does this with many action verbs that alone could be a great educational tool. This is a fun book to read with littles that are learning sounds and there are facts about the animals for the older kids as well. The illustrations are beautiful and it is a quick read for any child who loves books on animals. Learning how to play like an animal can also creates options for kids to get up and moving physically. It's a sweet story with a fun and unique point of view!

Animals of all stripes and colors love to play just like we do, and for a variety of reasons: to learn new skills and ways of moving, to enhance cooperation and communication with others, to practice defending themselves against predators, and yes, even to have fun! Featuring joyful, playful illustrations of rhinos, monkeys, dolphins, elephants, and other animals, Gianferrari and Powell have created a rollicking look at animals at play. Back matter extends the learning with additional facts about each featured animal, the importance of play to animals in general, and additional reading to learn more on the subject.

This book is a rollicking reminder of the power of play, in the animal world and for human children too. Gianferrari's text is full of rhythm and onomatopoeia, perfect for reading aloud to all ages. Some spreads have sidebars, which could be read aloud providing additional information to older readers. Powell's playful illustrations show the connections between how animals play and children themselves play. Readers will come away from this book ready for a little playtime of their own.

A beautifully illustrated picture book about how and why animals play. The prose is very simple and often accompanied by a small box of deeper explanations. The recommendation says ages 5-9 but to me it seems to be geared more towards toddlers and preschool ages.#SmallMattersThank you @Netgalley and @learnerbooks for early access to this ARC in return for an unbiased and voluntary review

How do animals play? Just like YOU!This fun children's book takes kids through how different types of animals play and why... from wallowing in the mud by rhinos to wolves playing tug of war. The best part ate the little lessons about how to play nicely and extras about the animals at the end. My 3 year old enjoyed it.Thank you to the publusher and netgalley for an advance copy of this book.