By Lola M. Schaefer and Heather Lynn Miller Illustrated by Jane Manning

Look Behind!Tales of Animal Ends

By Lola M. Schaefer and Heather Lynn Miller • Illustrated by Jane Manning

Tr 978-0-06-088393-5 • $16.99 ($19.99)Lb 978-0-06-088394-2 • $17.89 ($20.89)

About the Book

Few things are as funny to children as silly, somewhat inappropriate words—words likebutt. In Look Behind! that giggle-inducing word and its many funny substitutes (includ-ing backside, bottom, fanny, rear, and rump) appear on every page, as each letter of thealphabet introduces a distinctive feature pertaining to an animal’s hindquarters.

Do you know which animal uses its “fancy butt” to attract a mate? Or which animal’s“oily butt” waterproofs its body? Or how about which animal’s “slimy butt” helps pro-tect its skin from the sun’s harmful rays?

Fascinating facts and surprising information about the animal world never had such anintriguing presentation! Enjoy learning as much as your students and look forward toseeing them return again and again to a book that will captivate them to no end.

Before Reading

•Examining the book’s jacket only, have your students brainstorm ideas of whatthey think the book is about. Encourage them to look for clues in the images andthe title.

•Have a serious discussion with your students about what terms are appropriateto use and what ideas are suitable to share when talking about this potentiallysensitive topic.

•Warm your students up to the theme of the book by facilitating a discussionabout why animals have rear ends. (To head off a little of the potential silliness,you might add, “Besides going to the bathroom.”) What purposes do backsidesserve? What would animals do without them?

Discussion Questions

But why?Engage your class in going beyond the humor of the book. Why do animalshave these characteristics and adaptations? What do these attributes do forthe animals?

Look againGo through the book a second time with your class, asking your students topay particular attention to the illustrations. Ask them to identify how theillustrations help explain the ideas in the text. In what ways is the art realisticor unrealistic? Which pictures do they think are funny? Why?

ImagineHave your students consider all the animals in the book. Whichanimal would they choose to be because of that particular creature’stail end, and why?

Classroom Activities

Adaptable buttsAssign groups of students to work together on this sorting project. First, each group needsto come up with categories for the various functions of animals’ rear ends. Categories mightinclude: defense against predators, communication, protection from the environment, etc.Next, have students place each animal from the book into a category according to how itsrump helps or serves it. When everyone is finished, have groups share their work with eachother to discuss the similarities and differences.

Every animal in its placeLook Behind! suits other sorting work, as well. Instruct groups of students to organize theanimals from the book according to habitats or animal families. Allow time for research, asnecessary. Consider assigning a different type of sorting to each group, or challenge yourstudents to come up with their own ways of classifying the animals. Then, have each groupprepare a presentation to the class.

Lumpy, noisy, slimyThough science and biology stand out as obvious curricular connections for this title, its high-interest presentation also makes some solid language work possible. As a class, generate a listof the alphabetical adjectives assigned to describe each animal’s butt. Review what synonymsand antonyms are, and then challenge pairs of students to work together to come up withone synonym and one antonym for each adjective. Call on volunteers to share from their lists.

But or butt?Ask your class to explain the difference between the meanings of the words but and butt.Record all the definitions for the word butt that your students come up with, as well asspecific ways of using the word. Usage ideas might include: the butt of a joke, butt in, butt out, headbutt, etc. When all ideas are exhausted, have students use dictionaries tosee if there are any additional meanings or expressions. Extend this word exploration byencouraging children who complete work early to count how many times each of thewords—but and butt—appear in the book.

Imaginary buttGuide your students down creative paths by inviting them to make up their own animals.Provide them with materials to draw, paint, or collage their animal. Have each student giveits animal a name and write a brief description of the unique function of its rear end.Everyone will enjoy sharing these creations!

Classroom Activities (continued)Dig deeper

Now that your students are fascinated by these creatures, extend their interest throughan activity that asks them to research and write nonfiction. To prepare, enlist your librarian’shelp in ensuring that there are appropriate book and Internet resources for your class touse to find out more about the animals featured in Look Behind!

Randomly assign each student an animal from the book as his/her topic, and explain thatthey will all be writing nonfiction books about their assigned animals. In addition toincluding information about the animal that the student finds interesting, each bookneeds to inform readers about the animal’s habitat, lifespan, mating behaviors, eatinghabits, and means of protection or self-defense. Books also need to be illustrated. Plan afun recognition of all of the effort the class puts into these books, either by inviting familiesto the class to browse the books and listen to readings or arranging to share the bookswith a younger class.

More tales of animal endsOther animals have unique and interesting hind ends. Provide your students with materialsso that they can find out more about adaptations related to animal behinds. Some animalsto consider are skunks, white-tailed deer, beavers, bees, wasps, skinks, and geckos. Oncestudents learn what is special about an animal’s end, have them explain it to others bywriting and illustrating a page that mimics the model of Look Behind! Display the additionalpages for everyone in the class to see.

Amazing animalsHind ends are not the only intriguing parts of animals. Engage students in research byhaving them create individual or group collections of interesting animal facts to turn intononfiction books. Each book should be organized around an aspect of animal anatomy—whether eyes, skin, snout, tongue, or some other part of choice. An alternative is to makea single nonfiction book for the class and ask each student to contribute a page.

Tell about the tale of tailsEngage your class in reviewing this unusual title for other students. Would they recommendthis book to a friend? Why or why not? Charge your class with creating posters thatinclude illustrations and catchy ways of summarizing the book. The posters can expresspositive or negative evaluations, so long as they are respectful. Coordinate with yourlibrarian to display the posters in the library.

Greenwillow BooksAn Imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers www.harpercollinschildrens.com • For exclusive information on your favorite authors and artists, visit www.authortracker.com.

Illustrations copyright © 2008 by Jane Manning

Teaching ideas were prepared by Emily Linsay, Teacher at the Bank Street School for Children, New York, NY.