BUY IT NOW : What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins Children’s Picture Book
Children’s Picture Book Essential: What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins – Definitive Collector’s Guide and Complete Review
What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page is a Caldecott Honor-winning informational picture book that transforms animal anatomy into an interactive guessing game for early learners. First published by Houghton Mifflin in 2003, this 32-page hardcover utilizes Jenkins’ signature cut-paper collage technique to explore the biological function behind five key animal adaptations: noses, ears, tails, eyes, feet, and mouths. The book’s enduring relevance in STEM education, early literacy curricula, and children’s nonfiction collections has established it as a cornerstone title for parents, elementary educators, homeschoolers, and picture book collectors seeking scientifically accurate, visually striking literature. Secure this Caldecott Honor edition directly from our eBay store
What Is What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? A Complete Overview
This title operates on a sophisticated yet accessible riddle-and-reveal structure designed for pre-readers through second grade. Each spread isolates a single anatomical feature and presents extreme close-ups of that feature across five different species, prompting the reader with the titular question: “What do you do with a nose like this?” or “What do you do with ears like this?” The subsequent page turn provides the full-animal reveal alongside concise, factual text explaining the evolutionary purpose of the adaptation.
The book covers six distinct adaptation categories, each featuring five animals with highly specialized morphology:
- Noses: Includes the African elephant’s prehensile trunk for drinking and bathing, the star-nosed mole’s tactile sensory organ for hunting underwater, and the proboscis monkey’s enlarged nasal cavity for vocal amplification.
- Ears: Features the jackrabbit’s large ears for thermoregulation in desert heat, the bat’s echolocation-enabled ears for nocturnal navigation, and the hippopotamus’s closable ears for submersion.
- Tails: Showcases the spider monkey’s prehensile tail functioning as a fifth limb, the skunk’s tail for warning signals before spraying, and the humpback whale’s powerful fluke for propulsion.
- Eyes: Examines the chameleon’s independently rotating eyes for 360-degree prey detection, the mountain goat’s horizontal pupils for cliff-edge depth perception, and the crocodile’s nictitating membrane for underwater vision.
- Feet: Highlights the basilisk lizard’s fringed feet for running on water, the snowshoe hare’s oversized feet for traversing snow, and the gecko’s lamellae-covered feet for vertical adhesion.
- Mouths: Details the hummingbird’s specialized bill for nectar extraction, the toucan’s lightweight keratin bill for heat dissipation, and the platypus’s electroreceptive bill for locating prey.
This taxonomic breadth introduces children to mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and insects within a single volume, reinforcing concepts of biodiversity, habitat specialization, and natural selection without explicit jargon.
The Science of Animal Adaptations: Why This Book Matters for Early STEM Learning
What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? is classified as creative nonfiction and aligns directly with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) for K-2 Life Science, specifically LS1.A: Structure and Function and LS4.C: Adaptation. The text demonstrates that form follows function in biology, a foundational principle for understanding evolution. For example, the book explains that a giraffe uses its 18-inch tongue to strip leaves from acacia trees, while an anteater uses its elongated snout to extract ants from deep nests. These are not arbitrary traits but survival mechanisms refined over millennia.
For educators and parents implementing STEM or STEAM curricula, the book provides a low-preparation, high-engagement entry point. A kindergarten teacher can use the “guess the animal” format for inference skills and oral language development. A first-grade science lesson can extend the book into a classification activity, sorting the featured animals by habitat, diet, or vertebrate/invertebrate status. Homeschool families value the title for its cross-disciplinary potential, linking biology with geography and art through the collage illustrations.
Key Educational Benefits and Classroom Applications
- Inquiry-Based Learning: The riddle format cultivates predictive reasoning and observation skills before delivering factual resolution.
- Vocabulary Development: Introduces Tier 3 domain-specific vocabulary such as prehensile, nocturnal, camouflage, and echolocation in context with visual support.
- Visual Literacy: The isolated close-up illustrations train children to analyze visual details, a critical component of scientific observation.
- Read-Aloud Efficiency: With minimal text per page and a predictable pattern, the book sustains attention during circle time while allowing for interactive participation.
The Steve Jenkins Signature: Cut-Paper Collage Illustration Technique
Steve Jenkins (1952-2021) was an American author-illustrator renowned for pioneering cut and torn paper collage in children’s science literature. Collaborating with his wife, Robin Page, Jenkins created illustrations by cutting and layering hand-painted, textured papers to achieve remarkable dimensional realism and biological accuracy. Unlike photographic nonfiction, which can overwhelm young readers with visual noise, Jenkins’ method isolates the subject against a stark white background, ensuring the anatomical feature remains the focal point.
In What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?, this technique is critical to the book’s pedagogical success. The hyper-detailed yet stylized renderings accurately depict fur texture, scale patterns, and feather barbules while maintaining artistic clarity. Each animal is rendered to scale relative to its feature, allowing a child to immediately grasp proportion and distinctiveness. The Boston Globe-Horn Book Award committee and the Caldecott Medal committee specifically cited this innovative visual approach when awarding the book a Caldecott Honor in 2004. For collectors, Jenkins’ original collage works are recognized as significant contributions to American picture book art, and his untimely passing has increased collector interest in his first-edition titles.
Technical Specifications and Collector’s Condition Guide
Understanding the bibliographic details is essential for collectors, librarians, and gift buyers seeking a complete, authentic copy. The first edition is highly sought after due to its award status and Jenkins’ legacy.
| Attribute | Specification |
|---|---|
| Full Title | What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? |
| Authors | Steve Jenkins and Robin Page |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin Company / Clarion Books |
| Publication Year | 2003 (Caldecott Honor 2004) |
| Format | Hardcover Picture Book, Standard Jacketed Edition |
| Page Count | 32 pages |
| Dimensions | Approximately 10 x 9 inches (254 x 229 mm) |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0618256288 |
| Genre | Juvenile Nonfiction / Informational Picture Book / Zoology |
| Illustration Media | Cut and Torn Paper Collage on White Background |
| Reading Level | Ages 4-8, Lexile Measure AD670L, Grades PreK-2 |
When assessing condition, prioritize intact dust jackets with the Caldecott Honor seal, unmarked interior pages, and tight binding. Library-bound or ex-library copies retain educational utility but command lower collector premiums than pristine first printings.
Collector Value and Long-Term Investment Potential
The convergence of scientific accuracy, artistic innovation, and award recognition secures this title’s place in the canon of essential American picture books. As the inaugural title in what became Jenkins and Page’s acclaimed “What Do You Do With…” series, which includes What Do You Do With a Mouth Like This? and other companion volumes, this book is the series anchor that initiated the franchise. First printings with the 2003 copyright and complete number line are increasingly scarce in fine condition.
For institutional collections, the book remains in continuous print due to perpetual adoption in public library systems and elementary school curricula. For private collectors, its value lies in its crossover appeal: it functions simultaneously as a children’s classic, a work of paper art, and a foundational science text. The clean, minimalist aesthetic also makes it a popular choice for nursery decor and coffee table display, extending its utility beyond the bookshelf. Its status as a Caldecott Honor book ensures it will not go out of print or out of relevance, making it a stable, low-risk acquisition for any serious picture book collection. Add this Steve Jenkins classic to your collection now
Answers & FAQs
What awards did What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? win and why is it significant?
The book was awarded a Caldecott Honor in 2004 for distinguished illustration in American picture books for children. This recognition signifies exceptional artistic merit and permanently elevates its status, desirability, and value within children’s literature collections.
Is What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? part of a series and what is the correct reading order?
Yes, it is the first book in Steve Jenkins and Robin Page’s science picture book series exploring animal adaptations. It is followed by titles such as What Do You Do With a Mouth Like This? and Time to Sleep, though each book functions as a standalone read-aloud.
What is the ideal age range and educational setting for this book?
The publisher recommends ages 4 through 8, making it ideal for preschool, kindergarten, and first-grade classrooms. It is extensively used in public libraries, Montessori environments, and homeschool STEM units due to its interactive structure and NGSS alignment.
Are the illustrations in this book photographs or hand-made art?
The illustrations are not photographs but original artworks created from cut and torn pieces of hand-painted paper collage. This signature Steve Jenkins technique provides scientifically precise, textured images that are clearer and more focused for young learners than standard photography.
BUY IT NOW : What Do You Do With a Tail Like This? by Steve Jenkins Children’s Picture Book
Get AI Tools
Openwork – Free AI Helper https://openworklabs.com/
HyNote – AI Notetaking https://hynote.ai/?via=MGZFMA83PH
Rokid Glasses : https://rokid.sjv.io/1Gz3G9
