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Natural science + poetry + picture book usually adds up to 💚, but this pick has caveats. The idea of conversations between predator & prey is great, as are the poems. Some of the watercolour & gouache illustrations are nice but others are lacklustre. The brief explanatory text for each pair is sometimes confusing. I learned stuff but wasn‘t sure that I could trust it. Better #picturebook #poetry #nature books are in the comments.

An example of why I feel ambivalent about this nature poetry picture book:
“Don‘t Eat Here
Bright colours, bold stripes
Warning flags, stoplights
Neon signs to advertise
Dining here would not be wise.”
Great poem, but the accompanying text “Many animals are protected by poisons” doesn‘t explain that jays are insect predators, so young readers might incorrectly deduce that monarchs & zebra longwings & blue jays are all poisonous.

Hot-Tempered Squirrel

I‘m hot
and bothered.
I‘m hot
under the collar.
I‘m fur-rious
F U R I O U S !
Flag waving,
I boldly scold:
“Hey, you! Get off my lawn!”

Rattlesnakes attack ground squirrels but ground squirrels do not always seem to be afraid of them.