BIG & LITTLE by Steve Jenkins

Bibliography
Jenkins, Steve. 1996. Big & Little. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0395726646

Plot Summary
Big & Little is a concept picture book that teaches children about size. Jenkins takes a pair of animals that are within the same family, such as two birds or two rodents, and presents a small and big version.  For example, he shows an ostrich alongside a hummingbird. The drawings are all on the same scale so that readers get a realistic sense of the size difference between the animals. Interesting facts about each animal are also included.

Critical Analysis
Jenkins portrays the concept of size through lively illustrations drawn to scale. A big animal is drawn near a smaller animal within the same family so that younger children can learn what big and small means. For example, there is a great white shark that takes up about three pages (he actually wraps around to the next page that is turned) that appears to be chasing an extremely smaller cat shark that is about four inches on paper. The text provides interesting tidbits that tell how similar or different the animal pair is. The animal pairs are shown beginning with those that reside on land and ending with the sea dwellers. A bibliography of sources can be found at the end.

I love this book due to the illustrations and how Jenkins provides interesting information that compares the animal pairs. Although I do agree with the author’s foreword that some animals have evolved in size due to evolution, I think that kids may be mislead into thinking that this statement may be true of all the animal pairs presented in the book. My three-year-old loves how some of the animals wrap around to another page. He also likes the comparison of all the animals with an adult human silhouette; this two-page spread can be found at the end of the book. My daughter is seven and an aspiring veterinarian, which is why she enjoys the animal facts that are provided.

Awards Won & Review Excerpts

• Children's Literature Choice List, 1997

•  Lasting Connections, 1996 - American Library Association

•  School Library Journal Book Review Stars, October 1996

• Booklist: "With its visually striking images and easily digestible bits of information, this will please both young children and their parents." 

• Kirkus Reviews: "The main problem is that Jenkins is unclear about his audience: The opening paragraph on evolution is difficult for young readers; the rest of the book does not reinforce that paragraph for older readers and will put them off as little more than a naming or comparison game."

• Parent Council Volume 4: "Stunning cut-paper illustrations provide a textural feast for the eyes."

Connections

• Look through other nonfiction works about animals. Have children find other pairs within the same family that are on opposite sides of the size spectrum.

• Other nonfiction books about animals:

          Holub, Joan. Why Do Horses Neigh? ISBN 0803727704
          Jenkins, Steve, and Robin Page.What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? ISBN                     0618256288
          Jenkins, Steve, and Robin Page. How Many Ways Can You Catch a Fly? ISBN                       9780618966349

• Other nonfiction books about size:

          Jenkins, Steve. Actual Size. ISBN 0618375945
          Hillman, Ben. How Big Is It? A Big Book All About Bigness. ISBN 9780439918084
          Jenkins, Steve. Prehistoric Actual Size. ISBN 0618535780