Forget the lions and tigers and bears. Brooke Hartman (All Aboard the Alaska Train) will have readers gasping "oh my" over owls and otters and frogs in her nonfiction picture book Cute Animals That Could Kill You Dead. The title is slightly misleading since not every creature described is capable of hurting humans, but they do all have some kind of killer instinct. Illustrator María García enhances the cuteness of each deadly critter with her adorably cartoonish art. The dichotomy of "cute, cuddly face[s]" on lethal predators makes for a fascinating read.
Hartman's array of creatures spans the animal kingdom: insects, mammals, fish, reptiles. And each subject includes a rating on two scales: an "aww-dorable level" and an "aaaah!-some level" (though there's no indication how the ratings are determined). Readers learn each animal's scientific name, size, habitat, favorite food, and conservation status in a text box that is followed by a humorous, pun-filled description of its deadly nature. For example, slow lorises, when faced with a predator, "will lick a gland on their upper arm that contains toxins, then lick those toxins all over their body, resulting in POISONOUS FUR and a venomous bite.... Their toxin is... strong enough to make your skin rot like a zombie! If you were bitten, it would really be horror-fying." Every page is packed with fascinating details that animal lovers will devour, like the fact that sea bunnies are covered in papillae, "which are sensory organs like the taste buds on your tongue. That means sea bunnies are constantly tasting the water around them to see if it contains something yummy."
Accompanying all the playfully intriguing information is García's sweetly cute Photoshop artwork in predominantly pastel colors. Starry eyes and innocent smiles adorn the faces on each species' first page, but the second page reveals more of their killer emotions: snarls and teeth and mischievous eyes. The end of the book includes photographs of all the subjects so readers can see the actual animal and judge its cuteness based on their newfound knowledge of the killer nature within.
Cute Animals That Could Kill You Dead is entertaining and informative, giving young animal lovers and future biologists plenty to explore. While older readers may find some of the wordplay groan-worthy, the target audience will likely indulge in giggles and belly laughs. After all, who could resist grinning when reading about the hedgehog: "We do the hoggy-pokey and we stick our prickles out... that's what it's all about!" Hartman and García have produced a book that makes learning about killers a delight. --Jen Forbus, freelancer
Shelf Talker: The deadly behaviors of some of the planet's cutest creatures make for captivating and funny reading in this beautifully illustrated nonfiction picture book.