Click Here To Purchase From Amazon Little Skink’s Tail

ISBN: 978-0-9768823-8-1

Publisher: Sylvan Dell Publishing

Janet Halfmann’s Little Skink’s Tail has something a lot of nonfiction books for children don’t—it has a moral just like fiction. The story’s got a natural science bent, but perhaps the real value of the story is that everything is perfect, just as it is.

While Skink has breakfast, she almost becomes breakfast herself. When a crow attacks her, she quickly snaps off her tail and escapes. Without her tail, she’s a bit sad. She tries to imagine herself with another tail—a rabbit’s tail, a squirrel’s tail, a skunk’s tail… and so it goes.

Then, one day, she realizes she has a new tail—the familiar blue tail she always loved. It’s grown back and she likes it that way. No other tail is just right for skink.

Although Skink made me chuckle a few times, this book is neither too cute nor too serious. Halfmann handles the subject skillfully. Children will love the story and adults and teachers will appreciate the tone and accuracy.

Laurie Allen Klein’s illustrations are smartly cute. By that, I mean that children are going to love Skink in her many tails, but Klein never goes too far. Her pictures are likeable, but still sensitive to the book’s purpose.

The back matter includes a section on adaptation and communication and a mix and match activity, using tails of course. Like everything I’ve ever read from Sylvan Dell Publishing, this book is a treat.