Second Nature: Spotlight on Author/Illustrator Steve Jenkins

--by Hanje Richards
.
Steve Jenkins has written and illustrated nearly twenty picture books for young readers, including the Caldecott Honor-winning What Do You Do with a Tail Like This? His books have been called stunning, eye-popping, inventive, gorgeous, masterful, extraordinary, playful, irresistible, compelling, engaging, accessible, glorious, and informative. He lives in Colorado with his wife and frequent collaborator, Robin Page, and their children.
.
Biggest, Strongest, Fastest - An informative introduction to the "world records" held by fourteen members of the animal kingdom. Each spread portrays an animal that is the largest, slowest, longest lived. Readers can see the animal's size in relation to something familiar. One main fact is presented per spread about each of 14 animals. Two more relevant facts are given in smaller print. Silhouette drawings show comparative sizes. The realistic, inventive, textured illustrations, mostly double spreads, flow smoothly from page to page. A helpful chart at the end contains further information about each creature, such as diet and habitat.

.

Hottest, Coldest, Highest, Deepest - Climb the tallest mountain, dive into the deepest lake, and navigate the longest river in Steve Jenkins' book that explores the wonders of the natural world. With his striking cut paper collages, Jenkins captures the grand sense of scale, perspective and awe that only Mother Earth can inspire.
.
.

Into the A, B, Sea: An Ocean Alphabet - From anemones to zooplankton, the author introduces sea flora and fauna, first in rhymed couplets filled with appealing action words and then in a concluding section that offers a few facts about each entry. The pages of the book are illustrated with beautiful collages of brilliantly colored paper layered in uncluttered compositions.
.
Living Color - Color becomes the organizing factor in this new exploration of the quirks of the animal world. Jenkins’ design, always striking, reaches the heights of inspiration with this offering... guaranteed to be a browser’s delight.

.

The book’s real highlight, though, is Jenkins’ cut-paper collage: his animals are dazzling – vibrantly colored and detailed. For each of the featured animals, further information – size, habitat, and diet, among other facts -- is provided in the end matter.

.

Never Smile At a Monkey*… *and 17 Other Important Things to Remember - When it comes to wild animals, everyone knows that there are certain things you just don’t do. It’s clearly a bad idea to tease a tiger, pull a python’s tale, or bother a black widow spider. But do you know how dangerous it can be to pet a platypus, collect a cone shell, or touch a tang fish? A visually stunning book illustrated with cut paper and torn collages.

.

.
Vulture View - Turkey vultures soar on the balmy air, looking for their next stinky feast. These birds don’t hunt – they like their food to be already dead, and their eating habits serve a very important ecological role. Vultures are part of nature’s clean-up crew.
.

.
What Do You Do With A Tail Like This? - A nose for digging? Ears for seeing? Eyes that squirt blood? Explore the many amazing things animals can do with their ears, eyes, mouths, noses, feet, and tails in this beautifully illustrated interactive guessing book
.
Want more information about Steve? About science? About Steve’s book? About how books are made? Interested in seeing a delightful gallery of artwork by children who read Steve Jenkins’ books? Go to http://www.stevejenkinsbooks.com