Clarke, Ginjer L.
FAKE OUT! : ANIMALS THAT PLAY TRICKS
New York : Grosset & Dunlap, 2007
IL K-3, RL 1.9
ISBN 0448446561

  

Can you guess what creature swallows water and puffs itself up into a big spiky ball to escape predators? Why, that would be a porcupine fish. This fish cannot swim fast so it swells up so large and spiny that it is hard for other larger critters to eat it. There are other animals that have some awesome tricks to help them survive. How does a hognose snake react when faced with an approaching predator?  Well, it first hisses and swells up its neck to scare the animal, but if this doesn’t work, then it plays dead. It turns over and hangs its tongue out from its open mouth. Then a smelly odor comes out from its body. Many predators don’t want to eat a dead, stinky snake.  Like this snake, there is a bird that is also a  great actor. To protect its nest of eggs, this bird will fake being injured and lead a predator away. Once the predator is far away, it flies back to her nest. Do you know that other animals disguise themselves in really cool ways to stay safe?  How does a crab known as a decorator crab hide itself? The crab dresses itself up quite nicely. It plucks seaweed, pieces of sponge, and moss  and sticks them on top of its shell. Now looking like it is part of the seafloor, the crab cannot be so easily seen.  Have you heard about the goats that faint when scared? You will have a great time learning about them and other really cool tricky animals in this book.  (May Harn Liu, may@mailbox.sc.edu,  librarian)