What do you think?
Animal Snackers
The ostrich eyes with eager glint
a stone-his after-dinner mint.
It is a snack that he must swallow
so indigestion does not follow.
A Classic about animals' favorite treats - republished with all new illustrations
We all know that animals never eat at tables, and they don't eat the same treats as we do, but where and what do animals eat? Well, tick birds eat on the backs of rhinos. And platypuses?
Do you know what porcupines eat? Find out that and more in Betsy Lewin's whimsical account of the eating habits of some exotic creatures.
a stone-his after-dinner mint.
It is a snack that he must swallow
so indigestion does not follow.
A Classic about animals' favorite treats - republished with all new illustrations
We all know that animals never eat at tables, and they don't eat the same treats as we do, but where and what do animals eat? Well, tick birds eat on the backs of rhinos. And platypuses?
Do you know what porcupines eat? Find out that and more in Betsy Lewin's whimsical account of the eating habits of some exotic creatures.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published February 1, 1980
About the author
Betsy Lewin
119 books38 followersBetsy Lewin grew up in Clearfield, Pennsylvania. She always loved to draw and can’t remember wanting to be anything but an artist. Her mother, a kindergarten teacher, is responsible for her love of children’s books. She read to Betsy and her brother every night: Winnie the Pooh, The Adventures of Babar, Uncle Remus, and all the fairy tale books. The illustrators A.B. Frost and Ernest Shepard were among her earliest heroes. Later on when she started illustrating for children, Betsy realized how strongly she’d been influenced by James Stevenson and Quentin Blake.
After graduating from Pratt Institute where she studied illustration, Betsy designed greeting cards. Then she began to write and illustrate stories for children’s magazines. When an editor at Dodd, Mead & Company asked her to expand one of those stories into a picture book, Betsy says, “I jumped at the chance. I’ve been doing picture books ever since and loving every moment.”
Betsy’s art is usually humorous, drawn in pen or brush with watercolor washes, as in Click, Clack, Moo; Cows That Type, but she also paints in a naturalistic style as in Pool. Gorilla Walk is her first collaboration with her husband Ted and is about their trek to see the mountain gorillas in Uganda. This was followed by five more collaborations; Elephant Quest, set in the Okavango Delta, Top To Bottom Down Under, about their adventures in Australia, Horse Song; A Story of the Naadam, set in Mongolia, Balarama; A Royal Elephant, set in India, and Patrol, about the puffins of Iceland.
Many of Betsy’s books have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller List and she has garnered many awards including a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators, and a Caldecott Honor for Click, Clack, Moo; Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin.
When not at work on their books, Ted and Betsy love to travel to exotic places around the world gathering material for new books. At home each of them has a studio in their brownstone house in Brooklyn. Besides the usual clutter of pencils and pens, paint tubes and brushes, drawing paper and, of course, books, they surround themselves with mementos of their travels: peacock feathers from India, Herero dolls from Botswana, Galimoto toys from Namibia and Brazil, digeridoos from Australia, postcards and snapshots, and countless stones and seashells and bits of cloth that transport them back to the lands they visited. Their cat, Sophie, can usually be found napping on their drawing table.
Betsy was awarded a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators Original Art show for Click, Clack, Moo; Cows That Type, and an Honor for the first ever Ted Geisel Award given by the ALA for the book she illustrated, Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa.
In 2015, Ted and Betsy Lewin were inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame.
After graduating from Pratt Institute where she studied illustration, Betsy designed greeting cards. Then she began to write and illustrate stories for children’s magazines. When an editor at Dodd, Mead & Company asked her to expand one of those stories into a picture book, Betsy says, “I jumped at the chance. I’ve been doing picture books ever since and loving every moment.”
Betsy’s art is usually humorous, drawn in pen or brush with watercolor washes, as in Click, Clack, Moo; Cows That Type, but she also paints in a naturalistic style as in Pool. Gorilla Walk is her first collaboration with her husband Ted and is about their trek to see the mountain gorillas in Uganda. This was followed by five more collaborations; Elephant Quest, set in the Okavango Delta, Top To Bottom Down Under, about their adventures in Australia, Horse Song; A Story of the Naadam, set in Mongolia, Balarama; A Royal Elephant, set in India, and Patrol, about the puffins of Iceland.
Many of Betsy’s books have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller List and she has garnered many awards including a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators, and a Caldecott Honor for Click, Clack, Moo; Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin.
When not at work on their books, Ted and Betsy love to travel to exotic places around the world gathering material for new books. At home each of them has a studio in their brownstone house in Brooklyn. Besides the usual clutter of pencils and pens, paint tubes and brushes, drawing paper and, of course, books, they surround themselves with mementos of their travels: peacock feathers from India, Herero dolls from Botswana, Galimoto toys from Namibia and Brazil, digeridoos from Australia, postcards and snapshots, and countless stones and seashells and bits of cloth that transport them back to the lands they visited. Their cat, Sophie, can usually be found napping on their drawing table.
Betsy was awarded a silver medal from the Society of Illustrators Original Art show for Click, Clack, Moo; Cows That Type, and an Honor for the first ever Ted Geisel Award given by the ALA for the book she illustrated, Cowgirl Kate and Cocoa.
In 2015, Ted and Betsy Lewin were inducted into the Society of Illustrators Hall of Fame.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 23, 2013
This cute book is very informative about unusual animals. The rhyming couplets aren't great, but it doesn't matter that much.
January 29, 2021
2026
2022
2021
A very cute and educational read. Has a great rhyming scheme that makes it fun to read out loud. The pictures are very fun for babies to look at, too!
2022
2021
A very cute and educational read. Has a great rhyming scheme that makes it fun to read out loud. The pictures are very fun for babies to look at, too!
July 1, 2017
Fun book to read aloud. Each layout features an animal and a poem about what they eat. The illustrations are simple - big thick ink lines with watercolor. The silly rhymes are a pleasure to read out loud. My daughter and I have read this book together many times.
April 9, 2018
What's not to like? Simple poems that have rhythm and rhyme. Each poem informative about what animals eat. My students loved these poems and guessing what each animal might eat. Prompted so many interesting discussions!
November 10, 2019
Animal Snackers is a great informational book because it is a funny-illustrative rhyming-poetry books which gives you information about things which a few animals like to eat. It definitely put a smile on my face as I read it.
July 14, 2022
Fun rhymes and good information- would be a good book to practice the bridge map Thinking Map.
May 30, 2024
Read to my little one. He loved it & it was very informative.
February 23, 2026
I read this book to my dog & he seemed to enjoy it! I love the different facts I learned also.
September 22, 2013
I really liked this book and thought it was very informational for children . The author used less commonly known animals and took the reader on a journey about their lifestyle and what it was they liked to eat. I also found it a great tool that at the end of the book , there was a glossary of each animal and some more fun facts about them . A good read for animal lovers!
Learning Extension: You could have a lesson on animals and their habits and the different foods they like to eat , and you could connect that with the children in the class by talking about their favorite foods , and even different students cultures and foods they may eat.
Learning Extension: You could have a lesson on animals and their habits and the different foods they like to eat , and you could connect that with the children in the class by talking about their favorite foods , and even different students cultures and foods they may eat.
November 3, 2007
I love the rhyming verses in this book!
Gorilla
Gorillas, though they look like brutes,
may snack on tender bamboo shoots.
The sight of them may shiver us,
but they are not carnivorous.
The book goes on to describe eating habits of the platypus, ostrich, koala, puffin, anteater, tickbird, raccoon, fruit bat, sea otter, porcupine, and crocodile. All of the verses match in rhyme and meter, all are clever, and all are offset by adorable colored line drawings of the animals descrived. This was a wonderful find at a Books Are Fun booksale!
Gorilla
Gorillas, though they look like brutes,
may snack on tender bamboo shoots.
The sight of them may shiver us,
but they are not carnivorous.
The book goes on to describe eating habits of the platypus, ostrich, koala, puffin, anteater, tickbird, raccoon, fruit bat, sea otter, porcupine, and crocodile. All of the verses match in rhyme and meter, all are clever, and all are offset by adorable colored line drawings of the animals descrived. This was a wonderful find at a Books Are Fun booksale!
March 13, 2012
This collection of animal micro-poems or "snackers" has always been a favorite of mine and my students. Each poem describes the eating habits of a particular animal and is accompanied by a colorful illustration. These are easy, short rhymes that are easy to remember and share with others.
May 23, 2013
A fun poetry book about what animals eat. It is told in rhyming verse and can be used as a read aloud book for older children (1-3rd grade). Although it is categorized as poetry, the book's facts are accurate--a non-fiction science book that can double as a story book.
June 15, 2013
While I always enjoy books that present factual information in an entertaining manner, this one was not my favorite. The rhymes felt forced, and the illustrations couldn't decide whether to be realistic or whimsical. The appendix of animal facts was the best part of the book by far.
December 29, 2007
A rhythmic, fun book that holds my 3-year-old's interest without dumbing-down the vocabulary.
October 3, 2010
great book to introduce and practice rhyme. Poetry
February 3, 2014
This is a great book to use for engaging students in poetry.
November 6, 2016
Do gorillas really eat bamboo? I call shenanigans.
May 26, 2016
My two year old loved the pictures. I had trouble with the rhymes
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews