Is it hairy? Is it scary? / Annie Owen

"Is it hairy? Is it scary?" is the first picture book that I have read for INFO 6450. The text for this book is a simple rhyme that compares various animals and traits that they may have in common with other animals or traits that may be different. An example of the text is: "Does it have...no legs? two legs? four legs? or more legs?" This two page spread is accompanied by illustrations of animals with various numbers of legs. Each animal is named and there are a number of humans included on each page.

I found this book only moderately interesting. I consider myself a bit of a naturalist, so I enjoy books about animals, but I was not overly impressed by the illustrations in this book. I might have been more impressed if the animals had been put in their natural environment or if the illustrations were somehow organized in a more creative fashion. It might have also been interesting to make the labelling of the animals into a game, the readers of the book would have to match the name to the illustration. I do like the way that the author compares animals to humans by including some drawings of people that resemble an animal on the page and by making that relationship more obvious on the concluding page of the book. The simple rhyme makes this book appropriate for young children.