Do You Know...? series: Guest review

 

This review was written by Grade 3 student Hudson G.

 

Written by Alain M. Bergeron, Michel Quintin and Sampar
Illustrated by Sampar
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
64 pp.
Ages 7-11

2013-2018

The Do You Know...? series by Alain Bergeron, Michel Quinton and Sampar are little books that are only 64 pages long. This small graphic novel is the size of a regular novel, but is packed with a lot of information and funny cartoons. Children who read this book won’t realize they are learning because the book is one big long cartoon about the animals with scientific facts listed at the bottom. The focus is on the joke with the large picture taking up almost the whole page. The artwork is very cartoonish and that is very good for when kids are learning. This type of artwork attracts children and makes them want to read more. The cartoons are still realistic because dinosaurs look accurate, but it is funny because they are wearing clothes.

Each book in the series is a quick read, taking me about twenty minutes to finish. In those twenty minutes, I learned a lot. The facts were new to me and very interesting. The information learned is quite advanced about these animals. Each book has a glossary at the back to explain the new vocabulary. The graphic novel reads like a comic book and you don’t realize you are learning. So, if you want specific information about a topic, you can look at the index at the back, since there aren’t headings or a table of contents.

I would give this series a 9 out of 10. I couldn’t give it a perfect score because I would like each book to be longer. I wanted to keep reading. I would recommend this book to children in grades three to five because some of the words are harder to understand for younger readers. I only got to read four of the books in the series but I would like to read all of them listed on the back. I am going to ask my librarian to buy the rest of the series for our school so I can read them all.

~Review by student Hudson G., Gr. 3 

 

• • • • • • •

To date, I believe there are 16 (!) titles in this series so Hudson can look forward to more great reading and learning since, like Hudson, I recommend them all as entertaining and informative.

 

Do You Know Chameleons? (2013)

Do You Know Spiders? (2013)

Do You Know Crocodiles? (2013)

Do You Know Leeches? (2013)

Do You Know Rats? (2013)

Do You Know Crows? (2013)

Do You Know Porcupines? (2013)

Do You Know Toads? (2013)

Do You Know Dinosaurs? (2014)

Do You Know Praying Mantises? (2014)

Do You Know Hyenas? (2014)

Do You Know Komodo Dragons? (2014)

Do You Know the Rhinoceros? (2015)

Do You Know Tigers? (2015)

Do You Know Piranhas? (2018)

Do You Know Owls? (2018)

Do You Know...Dinosaurs? Hyenas? Komodo Dragons? Praying Mantises?

Young readers of French non-fiction have been lucky to have Savait-tu...? books (from Éditions Michel Quintin) available since 2001 with at least 50 different titles available.  But since 2013, Fitzhenry & Whiteside has been publishing the series in English, called the Do You Know...? series, with the same authors and illustrator together.  I reviewed the first in September 2013 but here are volumes 9-12 and I'd like to remind readers about these non-fiction gems.  Non-fiction can be so...o...o dry but there are only a few authors that consistently present it in informative and entertaining formats.  Some key youngCanLit authors of non-fiction include Elizabeth MacLeod, Monica Kulling, Susan Hughes, Rob Laidlaw, Bill Swan, Keltie Thomas and Helaine Becker with each having their own specialty. History, biography, animal rights, justice, sports and trivia are usually well-covered but the trio of Alain M. Bergeron, Michel Quintin and Sampar bring a refreshing perspective to animal non-fiction and young readers love it. I'd love to get more teacher-librarians, teachers, parents and readers as excited about this series as I am!


Do You Know Dinosaurs?
Written by Alain M. Bergeron, Michel Quintin and Sampar
Illustrated by Sampar
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
64 pp.
Ages 7-11
May, 2014

Do You Know Hyenas?

Written by Alain M. Bergeron, Michel Quintin and Sampar

Illustrated by Sampar

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

64 pp.

Ages 7-11

May, 2014

Do You Know Komodo Dragons?

Written by Alain M. Bergeron, Michel Quintin and Sampar

Illustrated by Sampar

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

64 pp.

Ages 7-11

May, 2014

Do You Know Praying Mantises?

Written by Alain M. Bergeron, Michel Quintin and Sampar

Illustrated by Sampar

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

64 pp.

Ages 7-11

May, 2014

From Do You Know Hyenas?
by Alain M. Bergeron et al., 2014

The integration of key facts about the animal within a double-spread illustration of a humourous situation depicting that fact works so well for both verbal and visual learners who will remember that information better for that pairing. For example, in the illustration to the right, the hyena's very thorough feeding on a carcass is depicted by the few bits left over for the vulture who sarcastically thanks the hyena for, like, nothing! Eating habits, morphology, reproduction, behaviour, mobility and more are covered within these graphics. And, as a teacher, I appreciate the subtle humour that provides me with a perfect vehicle for looking at inferencing skills.

Don't read these because of their educational value, though it is there.  And don't purchase them because they're new and unlikely to be in school or children's collections.  But do purchase them for their unique presentation of information and the laughter that will have your little ones easily remembering and sharing what they've read with pleasure.

Do You Know Chameleons?

by Alain M. Bergeron, Michel Quintin and Sampar

Illustrated by Sampar

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-299-3

64 pp.

Ages 7+

August, 2013

Do You Know Chameleons?  If not, you soon will and that learning will be accompanied surprisingly by uproarious laughter that is rarely heard when young readers check out non-fiction.  Why does non-fiction have to be so dry?  Of course, there are many topics which cannot be lightened with humour because the tragedy and horror embedded therein.  But, what about when learning of chameleons (and toads, spiders, crocodiles, and then rats, leeches, crows and porcupines)?  Let's face it: chameleons are odd little organisms with their quirky nature of camouflage. (See why youngCanLit Camilla Chameleon by Colleen Sydor from Kids Can Press, 2005 was such a hit with kids.  But I digress.) So by taking advantage of the weird and wonderful and then developing a graphic Do You Know? series, Alain M. Bergeron, Michael Quintin and Sampar, courtesy of Fitzhenry & Whiteside, have just given young readers another reason to enjoy non-fiction.

From a graphic of a mother telling her chameleon son to look both ways before crossing the street to demonstrate the organism's independent eye movements (noted in captions) to the boxing match between two chameleons in which the victor becomes more colourful and the loser discolours, Do You Know Chameleons? is filled with bright cartoons depicting key attributes of these animals.  The readers may not always get the puns but they are sure to enjoy the chameleons and other animals as they shop, go to school, eat, fight, surprise and even get traffic tickets! A succinct but useful glossary and index complete the book's well organized format.

Other books in the series include the following:

Do You Know Crocodiles?

by Alain M. Bergeron, Michel Quintin and Sampar

Illustrated by Sampar

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-304-4

64 pp.

Ages 7+

August, 2013

Do You Know Spiders?

by Alain M. Bergeron, Michel Quintin and Sampar

Illustrated by Sampar

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-302-0

64 pp.

Ages 7+

August, 2013

Do You Know Toads?

by Alain M. Bergeron, Michel Quintin and Sampar

Illustrated by Sampar

Fitzhenry & Whiteside

978-1-55455-303-7

64 pp.

Ages 7+

August, 2013

... and they are all equally engaging and informative.  I love this series!