A Mammal is an Animal by Lizzy Rockwell

Cover of A Mammal is an Animal, from Holiday House

A Mammal is an Animal is an informational picture book that highlights the differentiating characteristics of mammals, from bones to live birth and lactation (culminating in a family scene with Mom breastfeeding). That it mostly does so with accessible vocabulary choices and simple sentences is an impressive feat. A Mammal is an Animal builds on its thesis (what defines a mammal) in ways that are age appropriate for young scientists beginning to read. 

The primary text in A Mammal is an Animal is in a larger size, with a stylish serif font and  closely spaced lines. Spreads have 1-5 lines of text. Between vocabulary and presentation, this title would be a better choice for a more confident beginning reader. Secondary text is included on most pages to identify animals pictured in the illustrations and to highlight qualities relevant to the primary text. There are three pages of back matter, which include more difficult vocabulary and a tree of life diagram.

The illustrations portray animal examples of the qualities described in the text, and a racially ambiguous* family of four as a framing mechanism. On repeated readthroughs there are new details to notice in the illustrations, particularly the initial two-page spread of the woodland scene. Only in a few instances does the illustrate clearly provide help decoding vocabulary in the text, another indication that this is text for a more fluent beginning reader. "Vertebrae" stands out as particularly challenging vocabulary in text that otherwise does an excellent job breaking biology concepts into easily decoded terms and sentences of varying lengths.

I will be very interested to see what young readers make of the conceit that the text is a conversation between the children pictured on the first page. I confess that it took me several readthroughs before I understood that to be the reason for the conversational interjections in the text (for example "Okay, then" and "Okay, I've got it!") 

I would not hesitate to hand A Mammal is an Animal to a young reader with an interest in animal science. Overall, the illustrations are compelling and the information is simplified without being reductive to the point of inaccuracy. It can be challenging to find informational text for beginning readers, and A Mammal is an Animal accomplishes the task with an appropriate amount of text and accessible vocabulary.

*Kirkus reviews identifies the family as being multiracial, with "a white dad and a brown-skinned mom".