Genius noses A curious animal compendium

The star-shaped nose of the aptly named star-nosed mole, the extra-long snout of the anteater, and the bulbous schnoz of the proboscis monkey often elicit chuckles, but this German import recognizes the noses' important functions in these animals and others around the world. Divided into sections on flying animals, water animals, ground dwellers, underground diggers, and animals that hang out in trees (with the headings only appearing in the table of contents and not within the text itself), the compendium comprises double-page profiles of nose-y animals, from the better-known elephant and koala to the more-obscure dik-dik and stink badger (which is actually a kind of skunk). Each profile features soft, charming illustrations in earth tones around chunked paragraphs that relate the animal's environment, physical characteristics, how it catches (and avoids becoming) prey, and how it uses its special nose. For instance, the desman (aka musk) can use its nose like a snorkel in water to sniff out potential danger. Readers can dip in and out for a plethora of engaging and even silly facts.

A prodigious portrait gallery of prominent proboscises. Digging deeply into the world's wild animal populations, Konstantinov picks a plethora of notable noses to depict in face-forward postures, from members of the elephant and pig families on down to elephant seals, anteaters, star-nosed moles and molelike desmans, shrews and their cousins, aptly named Pinocchio frogs of New Guinea, Madagascar leaf-nosed snakes, and snout beetles. Not to mention, of course, koalas, tapirs, and male proboscis monkeys with their "giant schnozzles." Along with both common and scientific identification labels Anlauf provides notes on each creature's geographical distribution and whether it is macrosmatic (meaning its sense of smell is how it makes its way through the world) or microsmatic (its sense of smell is secondary to other senses)…even when, as with insects, the "nose" isn't what does the smelling. She also highlights each schnoz's distinctive feature or structure, such as the ratlike Solenodon's ball-and-socket joint or the unusual way the star-nosed mole detects underwater odors. Translated from German, the entries are arranged loosely ("flying creatures," "ground-dwellers," "water creatures," etc.); there's an index by species name, a graphic size chart at the end, and a world map modeled after the AuthaGraph map, showing all the continents at their relative actual sizes. (This book was reviewed digitally.) On the nose for young naturalists. (glossary, source notes) (Informational picture book. 7-10) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.