What Will I Be?

Flip the Flap and Find Out

by Nicola Davies, Marc Boutavant (Illustrator)

Lift the flaps and learn about animal life in this fresh, fun-filled book for curious preschoolers.

A small papery bundle hangs under a leaf by a silken thread. Can you guess what it will be one day? Butterflies, polar bears, turtles, frogs, birds — they all have a fascinating life journey to follow. Peek under each large flap and look at colorful spreads to find out how each animal develops. A final spread invites readers to match each fullgrown creature with its beginning stage.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Nonfiction, Childrens, Storytime, Science, Juvenile

32 pages, Hardcover

First published February 28, 2012

About the author

"I was very small when I saw my first dolphin," says zoologist Nicola Davies, recalling a seminal visit with her father to a dolphin show at the zoo. Enchanted at the sight of what she called the "big fish" jumping so high and swimming so fast, she determined right then that she would meet the amazing creatures again "in the wild, where they belonged." And indeed she did--as part of a pair of scientific expeditions, one to Newfoundland at the age of eighteen and another to the Indian Ocean a year later. In WILD ABOUT DOLPHINS, Nicola Davies describes her voyages in a firsthand account filled with fascinating facts and captivating photographs of seven species of dolphins in action.

Nicola Davies's seemingly boundless enthusiasm for studying animals of all kinds has led her around the world--and fortunately for young readers, she is just as excited about sharing her interests through picture books. The zoologist's latest offering puts a decidedly quirky twist on her years of experience: POOP: A NATURAL HISTORY OF THE UNMENTIONABLE is a fun, fact-filled guide to the fascinating world of poop across species. "As a zoologist, you are never far from poop!" the writer explains. "I've baked goose poop in an oven with my dinner, looked at bat poop under the microscope, and had my T-shirt stained pink with blue-whale poop. I was obviously fated to write this book."


The exceptional combination of Nicola Davies's zoological expertise and her first-rate children's writing is apparent in her remarkable catalog of award-winning titles. Her first book with Candlewick Press, BIG BLUE WHALE, was hailed by American Bookseller as an "artfully composed study" offering "language exactly appropriate for four- to seven-year-olds and precisely the right amount of information." In ONE TINY TURTLE, Nicola Davies's clear, compelling narrative follows the life of the rarely seen loggerhead turtle, which swims the oceans for thirty years and for thousands of miles in search of food, only to return, uncannily, to lay her eggs on the very beach where she was born. The author's next book, BAT LOVES THE NIGHT, is a tenderly written ode to a much-misunderstood flying mammal, the pipistrelle bat, while SURPRISING SHARKS--winner of a BOSTON GLOBE-HORN BOOK Honor Award--contains unexpected facts about another one of the planet's most infamous animals.


When she is not off on scientific expeditions, Nicola Davies lives in a cottage in Somerset, England, where she is lucky enough to have pipistrelle bats nesting in her roof.

Reviews

[Caliana Berch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book would be informative to discuss the life cycles of animals. It is also an interactive book to make it seem more entertaining for children! It may be a little lengthy to incorporate in a a typical read aloud for younger children but with older it may work better!

[Sarah Brandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book describes the processes that different animals go through. It starts off explaining the process of a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. This is a good informational text to use when explains the life of animals and how it begins.

[Rachel Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

This flip the flap book has great illustrations with a butterfly transformation. It can be paired with a book like "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" There are several step by step transformations in this book about animals.

[Cheyenne Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great for children because..

-It shows the life cycle for animals
-allows you to compare and contrast life cycles, good for science
-great illustrations of life cycles
-good vocabulary about life cycles

[Sarah Threlkeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool concept. Has the potential to be more.

[Lauren DeVore · Rating 5 out of 5]

-Informational
-accurate factual information
-life cycle book about caterpillars, polar bears, turtles, and more!

[Courtney Byrer · Rating 5 out of 5]

informative
life cycle
great for discussions
introduction of science vocabulary
Colorful with clear pictures

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

-informational book
-actual factual information
-book about lifecycle

[Isabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. More informational
2. Doesn't mislead children like "The Very Hungry Caterpiller"
3. Gives accurate visual representations

[Carolyn Jeziorski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book that shows how animal babies grow and change. The kindergarten kids really loved it. They knew all the animals. I do wish more “technical” terms were used (such as chrysalis).

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

A "lift the flap" book providing information and hints about several different animal species as babies and what they will be once grown up.

[Evelyn Song · Rating 5 out of 5]

这一个系列的早起动物科普特别赞

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, vibrant, interactive book featuring animal life cycles. One part features a small, furry, white animal. Lifting the flap reveals that the animal will be a polar bear. The next spread of pages provides 4 facts about polar bears through its life cycle. Other animals included in the story are: butterfly, sea turtle, frog, and bird. The final page includes a picture of a baby and a flap that reveals a little boy.

This is a great book to use with older preschool students. It can also be used as a starting point for a fun writing project with elementary school students.

[Kathryn Sublett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book can be used to show the life cycle of animals. Teachers could put the first stage of each animal depicted in the book on tables and ask students to predict what will happen next. Students will listen to a read aloud of this book to understand the life cycles of each animal and restructure their ideas. This would be an appropriate for students in second grade.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book to read with ECE level readers because they get to use deductive reasoning skills to determine what each baby will become! It talks about birds, mammals, and amphibians to give children a well-rounded idea of what the animal kingdom of babies is really like. With lift-the-flaps, the book is very engaging!

[Joyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's hard to find good nonfiction for preschoolers, so I was excited to share this book with my little one. She enjoyed the lift the flaps, guessing what each "baby" would become, and learned new facts about each animal. This book might be a little too long to share in a library storytime, but I would definitely recommend this to teachers to share in their early childhood classrooms.

[Marcie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the other book I read in this series better, but this one is fine for teachers wanting lift the flap titles. I should have done a picture walk prior to reading it and I might have gotten the polar bear baby from the cover. OK for what it is.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lift-the-flap fun and delightful illustrations.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this! Can't wait to use it for a class at Tyler Arboretum. I am becoming a fan of Nicola Davies books!

[Mindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute guessing game about life cycles for preschoolers. Probably not likely to be read over and over again, but a fun choice.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ryan loved guessing what each animal would be. He kept talking about the story later in the day.

The next time he loved it because there are so many animals and they turn from small to big.

[Kathleen Albanese]

Informational book about caterpillars

[Casey Weisner · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book goes through the process of a caterpillar's transformation into a butterfly

[Stacy Kovets]

- Informational text about various animals
- life cycle book
- flap book

[Katie Kane]

- informational text about caterpillars
- polar bears
- turtles
- lifecycle
- bold colors
- clear images

[Haley Shotts]

shows the process of life for different animals and is a great cycle book
depicts great pictures for children to look at and better understand animals life cycles

[Kayla]

- book is very informational
- great pictures
- very accurate

[Lauren Ottinger]

-informational text
-prediction
-great realistic visuals

[Seth Trotter]

Discusses the life cycle of different animals, and includes a ton of informational texts.
Offers a wide range of animals, so you gain a lot of information from this text.
This story is a flip/flap book, so it can allow students the chance to hypothesize as well.

[Makenzie Stucky]

-Non-fiction book that accurately portrays life cycle
-Fun to do with the different flaps
-Not a concept book, an actual non-fiction book