We All Belong

K-Gr 4–Thisa delightful interactive animal story will be enjoyed by a wide range of children as they engage with the concept of unity. Mule is lonely but hears another animal chittering; when she spots long ears poking out of the ground, she thinks that it must be another mule. However, the ears are shown to belong to Rabbit. Rabbit then spies the teeth of another hidden animal; these teeth look like Rabbit’s, but they turn out to be the teeth of Beaver. This pattern continues as each animal recognizes a physical feature that looks like their own but actually belongs to a different species. Readers will be guessing along with the animals as they try to connect the clues. Marino’s gentle gouache illustrations feature friendly animals as they celebrate their unique attributes as well as those features they have in common. The interactive nature of the text and illustrations will make this story an enjoyable read-aloud that could be used in science classes when an animal unit is being introduced or in an ELA classes where inference and evidence-citing skills are being reinforced.