Get the Scoop on Animal Poop

April 23, 2012
In this extensive and wide-ranging guide to animal feces, Cusick discusses types of animal droppings, terminology, the logistics of defecation for aquatic species, the ways in which poop contributes to ecosystems and food chains, how animals communicate using feces, and more. The overall design is a bit cluttered and dated-looking: photographs depict numerous animals—including opossums, sloths, penguins, and the viceroy and white admiral caterpillars (which camouflage themselves as bird droppings)—and their waste products, while sidebars explain unusual uses for poop, such as a “Geisha facial” made from nightingale feces. An interview with a veterinarian and ideas for poop-related learning activities (a scavenger hunt for worm castings, anyone?) urge readers to explore the science behind the giggle-inducing topic. Ages 7–11.

February 15, 2012
Grades 3-5 As a natural byproduct of her Bug Butts (2009), Cusick drops compact pellets of general scientific information about the appearance, composition, and uses of poop around lots of big color photos and microphotos of animals and animal waste. Her disquisition on dung won't sit atop the pile of similar outpourings, however, because a fuzzy claim that pinworms propagate via eggs that travel from the anus to the mouth of the same host (instead of a new host) joins a disingenuous refusal to include certain synonyms in a glossary because they will make adult eyebrows go up and get you in trouble, and a later discussion of poop's use in self-defense that contains a clumsily phrased invitation to check another page to learn more about animals that do this behavior. Still, the topic is endlessly fascinating to some, and emerging coprologists will enjoy sitting down with this digestible survey.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)