Book Review: When Lunch Fights Back

When Lunch Fights Back: Wickedly Clever Animal Defenses by Rebecca L. Johnson is the fascinating story of a number of animals that have really cool defenses that prevent from, basically, being eaten for lunch.  As soon as I opened the book with dripping colors and splotches all over the pages, I knew this would be a great book for a picky reader looking for something interesting and it’s an informational text!
With eight (short) chapters focusing on a different defense tactic, the author keeps the language engaging and informative, while still keeping it at an accessible level for elementary and young middle school students.  Animals highlighted include birds, bugs, ocean dwellers, lizards and even plants!
The backmatter includes a glossary of words and also includes a selected bibliography as well as a index and more importantly a section titled “More to Explore” which includes books, websites and videos.  I’m always a little wary about websites and online videos being offered because they are not static content, but it would be great to talk about some of these animals and then be able to see them in a video.
Title: When Lunch Fights Back: Wickedly Clever Animal Defenses
Author: Rebecca L. Johnson
Publisher: Millbrook Press
Publication Date: 2015
Page Number: 48 pgs.