What Do You Do When Something Wants To Eat You?
This book is a tribute to nature and all of nature's wonder. The focus on the book is how animals - from the basilisk
lizard to the hog-nosed snake - protect themselves from predators.
The design of this book hooks readers from the first page. The reader sees an octopus being threatened on
one page, but in order to see the outcome, they must turn the page to see how the animal diverts the attack. Not only
does this design created the intended suspense and excitement, but it allows time for readers to guess or formulate ideas
on how a certain bug or animal will escape an attack. This gives children the chance to interact with the book itself,
taking the experience to a more meaningful level.
Intricate cut paper collages are used as illustrations. The background colors compliment or accentuate the beauty
of the animals, keeping the flow of the artowrk simple but detailed. The spotlight of each page is the animal
itself, like the puffer fish puffed up on a page of its own. The book's art has a very natural feel to it; the pictures
present a colorful yet accurate presentation of nature itself.
The idea of animals escaping attack is simple enough, but to put it in terms of "what do you do when something is trying
to eat you..." sheds a new light on the urgency of the situation. Yet the bugs and animals only do what is in their nature.
The great part of this book is nature is given center stage and the reader is able to marvel at its ingenuity. For example,
"When it spreads its wings to fly, the silkmoth reveals two large spots that look like eyes on its wings. These can
startle an attacker and give the silkmoth time to escape." Who knew a basilisk lizard (or a "Jesus lizard") can run
on water to avoid capture or that the tail of a glass snake simple breaks off if it is caught so the rest of the snake can
slither free?
The book feels like a tour through the escape mechanisms of the animal kingdom. Facts aren't dumped on the reader
- instead they are presented in a way that leaves us wanting to know more and marveling at what we just learned. According
to Roback, "This is the kind of book that awakens the scientist in young readers" (1997).
Jenkins, Steve. What Do You Do When Something Wants To Eat You? Boston: Houghton Mifflin
Company, 1997. ISBN 0395825148.
