Children's Book Review: *Fur and Feathers* by Janet Halfmann

Fur and Feathers by Janet Halfmann, illustrated by Laurie Allen Klein

Back-of-the-book blurb:  When Sophia dreams that howling winds whisk the fur and feathers right off her animal friends, she shares some of her clothes with them. But her clothing doesn’t work well for the animals. Seeing their disappointment, she offers to sew each one the right coat. Animals line up to explain what they need and why. The award-winning team of Halfmann and Klein reunite to bring animal coverings (and classification) to life in an imaginative way.

She Is Too Fond of Books’ review:  The award-winning team of Janet Halfmann and Laurie Allen Klein (Little Skink’s Tail) return with another book that teaches young readers (and those who sit for ‘read alouds’) about the unique qualities of animals.  Little Skink’s Tail investigated the way a specific tail is best-suited to each animal.  In Fur and Feathers, the reader learns why various animals have the specific type of “clothing” (covering).

The scene is set when Sophia and her mother read an animal counting book before bed one night.  As the wind storm howls outside her bedroom window, the subjects of the book come to life in Sophia’s dream:

But in her dreams, the animals whirl with the whipping wind.  Faster and faster they spin, till the wind blows them right out of their coats.  Fur, shells, feathers and scales fly everywhere.  The animals shiver in their bare skin.

Sophia wants to help the animals keep warm, so she offers to share her own clothing from her closet.  This first attempt is met with thanks from the animals, but they all agree that Sophia’s clothes are not the best ‘fit’ for their special animal needs.

Grabbing her grandmother’s sewing box, Sophia offers to create the right coat for each animal.  One by one the animals tell her of their needs:  Polar Bear requires “a coat of thick white fur to keep me warm and to help me hid in the ice and snow;”  fleecy fabric does the trick.  Porcupine needs prickly quills “to protect myself;” Sophia fashions a new coat from brown fabric “bristling with pins and needles.” 

As the other animals come forward and state their needs, Sophia creates a facsimile of their true covering, using the feathers, sequins,and shells from her grandmother’s basket.  To each coat, she adds a special touch – a heart behind Polar Bear’s ear, a change of color to the band around Duck’s neck.

Fur and Feathers touches on just enough animals to spark a discussion about other creatures and the way their ‘coats’ are specialized for warmth, movement, protection, or camouflage.  From the tiny Snail to the big Polar Bear, Sophia (and the reader) learn a bit about adaptation, and feed curiosity about other aspects of animal behavior.

Like all Sylvan Dell books we’ve read, the “For Creative Minds” section at the back of the book offers opportunities for deeper investigation.  In Fur and Feathers, these pages delve into scientific classification, an explanation of the system, questions to ask when classifying, and a half dozen bullet points about seven classes and types of skin coverings.  These pages are a solid reference when my two younger children were trying to stump each other classifying various animals (I had to referee a few times, but no one got hurt!). 

These resources and a Teaching Activity Guide are also available online; this is such a wonderful resource for readers of the book – for classroom teachers, homeschoolers, and families – I printed out several age-appropriate activities to bring in the car on long drives over the past few weeks.  They kept my youngest busy, as he sorted them out and we talked our way to our destination.

Laurie Allen Klein’s illustrations are beautifully rendered in colored pencil and acrylic paint.  The dream animals are given human expressions and activities (reading a book, helping with the sewing, etc.).  My kids had fun finding the special touch Sophia puts on each new coat, and were pleasantly surprised to find that one carries over from dream to reality, when, at the zoo the next day, Sophia and Grandma spot a polar bear with a red heart behind his ear.

Highly recommended as a read aloud for the younger set, and a read aloud science-based picture book through mid-elementary.  The For Creative Minds section and Teaching Activity Guide encourage Fur and Feathers to be extended beyond that age.

This trailer shows actual illustrations from the book; text is paraphrased, much as I’ve done above:

This review is one stop on a blog tour the author and illustrator have arranged; please visit these other sites for more information about Fur and Feathers, including interviews, guest posts, and giveaways:

• Thursday Aug. 5: Review at Cafe of Dreams 
• Friday Aug. 6:  Interview with author Janet Halfmann & Giveaway of hardcover Fur and Feathers personalized by Laurie & Janet (ship US only) at Katie’s Nesting Spot
• Saturday Aug. 7:  Interview with illustrator Laurie Allen Klein & Giveaway of 3-month e-book license for all of Sylvan Dell Publishing’s 55 books (international) at Write for a Reader
• Monday Aug. 9:  Guest post by Laurie Allen Klein and Giveaway—choice of hardcover Fur and Feathers personalized by Janet & Laurie (ship US only) or 3-month e-book license for all of Sylvan Dell Publishing’s 55 books (international) at Pudgy Penguins Perusals
• Tuesday Aug. 10 (Official release date):  Review and Giveaway—choice of hardcover Fur and Feathers personalized by Janet & Laurie (ship US only) or 3-month e-book license for all of Sylvan Dell Publishing’s 55 books (international) at Brimful Curiosities
• Wednesday Aug. 11:  Review & Giveaway of hardcover Fur and Feathers personalized by Laurie & Janet (ship US only) at Outnumbered 3-1
• Thursday Aug. 12:  Guest post (“The Wonders of Writing about Nature”) by author Janet Halfmann & Giveaway of hardcover Fur and Feathers personalized by Laurie & Janet (ship US only) at Lori Calabrese