What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?
By Marigny Dupuy,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Interactive, educational, stunningly illustrated.

A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this book.
Where to Read
Community Reviews
There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.
What's the Story?
On double-paged spreads with crisp white backgrounds, the reader is shown a group of five similar body parts--noses, ears, tails, feet, and mouths--and asked to guess which animal each belongs to. The answers are on the following page with a picture of the whole animal and a brief description of how each animal uses that body part in a slightly differently way. At the back of the book there are four pages of additional notes on each animal.
Is It Any Good?
Elegantly designed, the pages of this book have bright white backgrounds and fascinating, subtly colored, textured paper collage illustrations. The book is a smorgasbord for the eyes. Using a second-person voice in the text, the authors draw the reader into the book with direct questions as well as collaborative answers. Along the way, children will gather intriguing bits of information about both familiar and exotic animals. For older children who want to know more, the notes in the back are a treasure trove.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how animals communicate. What are some of the different ways in which animals use their noses, ears, tails, eyes, mouths, and feet?
Book Details
- Authors: Steve Jenkins, Robin Page
- Illustrators: Leonard Jenkins, Robin Page
- Genre: Picture Book
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Children's Books
- Publication date: February 1, 2004
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 4 - 7
- Number of pages: 32
- Award: Caldecott Medal and Honors
- Last updated: July 12, 2017
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.
Suggest an Update
Where to Read
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate