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Critter Chat: What If Animals Used Social Media?
If animals could speak (and text and post selfies, and review items on Amazon), what would they say? Find out in this hilarious collection of imagined digital encounters, based on real animal intel and facts.
Get in on the conversation! In Critter Chat, every habitat has a group chat. In the African savanna, a lion (screenname: Just_Lion_Around) declares his territory with a text-based ROAR! Meanwhile, zebra and cheetah send eyeroll emojis. In the North American suburbs, a carpet beetle texts the family dog, reassuring him that his humans will return—eventually.
Among surprising, laugh-out-loud conversations like these, you’ll find tons of parody social media posts from all your favorites in the animal kingdom, including Instagram-style inspirational posts and silly Yelp reviews. An adorable dumbo octopus posts a selfie (#FeelingCute). And a frustrated narwhal reviews an extra-long toothbrush. (It’s still too short—of course!)
Inside, there are also plenty of fascinating nonfiction features that give readers the scoop on actual animal communication (Did you know that white rhinos communicate with poop? It's true!), and real-life animal influencers who are making waves online and in our hearts. In a conveniently portable size, this handy little treasure can be carried anywhere, for a good laugh anytime!
It's the perfect book for reluctant readers, animal lovers, and yucksters young and old.
For more fun and fact-filled animal books from National Geographic Kids, don’t miss out on Weird But True! Animals, Just Joking: Funny Animals, and Nerdlet: Animals!
Get in on the conversation! In Critter Chat, every habitat has a group chat. In the African savanna, a lion (screenname: Just_Lion_Around) declares his territory with a text-based ROAR! Meanwhile, zebra and cheetah send eyeroll emojis. In the North American suburbs, a carpet beetle texts the family dog, reassuring him that his humans will return—eventually.
Among surprising, laugh-out-loud conversations like these, you’ll find tons of parody social media posts from all your favorites in the animal kingdom, including Instagram-style inspirational posts and silly Yelp reviews. An adorable dumbo octopus posts a selfie (#FeelingCute). And a frustrated narwhal reviews an extra-long toothbrush. (It’s still too short—of course!)
Inside, there are also plenty of fascinating nonfiction features that give readers the scoop on actual animal communication (Did you know that white rhinos communicate with poop? It's true!), and real-life animal influencers who are making waves online and in our hearts. In a conveniently portable size, this handy little treasure can be carried anywhere, for a good laugh anytime!
It's the perfect book for reluctant readers, animal lovers, and yucksters young and old.
For more fun and fact-filled animal books from National Geographic Kids, don’t miss out on Weird But True! Animals, Just Joking: Funny Animals, and Nerdlet: Animals!
- GenresNonfiction
216 pages, Paperback
Published May 17, 2022
About the author
Rosemary Mosco
23 books160 followersRosemary makes books and cartoons that connect people with the natural world. Her Bird and Moon nature comics won the National Cartoonists Society’s award for Best Online Short Form Comic and were the subject of an award-winning museum exhibit. She makes best-selling science books for kids and adults and gives keynotes at birding festivals. She’s written and drawn for The New York Times, Audubon, PBS kids’ Elinor Wonders Why, Ranger Rick, and more. She’s represented by Seth Fishman. Her favorite glacial landform is the esker.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
January 17, 2026
Such a good book! Critter Chat allows you to have fun and be laughing, while also learning about animals! I wish this book was never ending!
July 14, 2022
Lots of information and lots of activity from critters of every size, shape, continent and species.
Insects, fish, birds, mammals, lizards, creepy things, cuddly things, poisonous things, safe things, edible things, dangerous things, beautiful things, things only a mother could love - 208 pages full of smart talking critters doing the social media scene and sharing facts in a fun way.
National Geographic is known for fabulous photography and this little book is no exception. Some of the critters have the best expressions on their faces! The pictures are combined with hashtags, likes, snarky comments, threads that run thru the book and many, many facts abut the individual critters. There are a few comments that push the limit for what might be acceptable for kids but parents will need to check that for themselves lest they have their littles calling someone “Blubber Butt”🥴
All things considered, great size, excellent value and hours of fun & learning waiting to happen📚
Insects, fish, birds, mammals, lizards, creepy things, cuddly things, poisonous things, safe things, edible things, dangerous things, beautiful things, things only a mother could love - 208 pages full of smart talking critters doing the social media scene and sharing facts in a fun way.
National Geographic is known for fabulous photography and this little book is no exception. Some of the critters have the best expressions on their faces! The pictures are combined with hashtags, likes, snarky comments, threads that run thru the book and many, many facts abut the individual critters. There are a few comments that push the limit for what might be acceptable for kids but parents will need to check that for themselves lest they have their littles calling someone “Blubber Butt”🥴
All things considered, great size, excellent value and hours of fun & learning waiting to happen📚
August 26, 2022
What worked:
While the content of the book is non-fiction, the format of using the internet and social media is fictional and will appeal to young readers. The chat rooms are most entertaining as unlikely “friends” amusingly talk about their lives in different habitats. A shark, whale, sea tortoise, and seal chat about life in and around the ocean while a different chat room finds creatures discussing where they find water for survival. Dolphinstagrams show a Honduran White Bat talking about its love for camping and an Orchid Mantis sharing how it uses its disguise to catch food. There are Yelp-like posts, Yip-advisor reviews of habitats, Bee-harmony posts looking for companionship, a one-star Llamazon rating for a narwhale’s toothbrush, and a bat’s five-star Yowl review for the Algerian Desert.
Information is presented through the animals’ voices which creates some amusing points of view. A lion ROARS about being the king of its one territory while a cheetah and giraffe counter with the advantages of moving to new areas. A Greater Bilby can’t share much in its chat room since it’s falling asleep during the daytime. A mockingbird gets annoying when it keeps repeating what other animals say. In another chat, a spotted salamander, an earth snake, and a mole talk about what they like to eat (worms), an earthworm is offended and says “I’m right here!”, so the salamander asks for a text of its location.
What didn’t work as well:
The book opens with a page telling readers to watch for an arctic tern in the pictures as it migrates across the planet. I was hoping this would tie the pages together, but the tern’s appearances aren’t highly noticeable. Consequently, information about animals from around the world seems to appear randomly. However, this isn’t a terrible problem as the information is presented in an amusing and entertaining style.
The Final Verdict:
I’m sure young readers will love this book and learn a lot about the diverse lives of animals. This information is kept simple in a humorous way, is accompanied by colorful photographs on every page, and is presented in a variety of styles. I highly recommend you give this book a shot!
While the content of the book is non-fiction, the format of using the internet and social media is fictional and will appeal to young readers. The chat rooms are most entertaining as unlikely “friends” amusingly talk about their lives in different habitats. A shark, whale, sea tortoise, and seal chat about life in and around the ocean while a different chat room finds creatures discussing where they find water for survival. Dolphinstagrams show a Honduran White Bat talking about its love for camping and an Orchid Mantis sharing how it uses its disguise to catch food. There are Yelp-like posts, Yip-advisor reviews of habitats, Bee-harmony posts looking for companionship, a one-star Llamazon rating for a narwhale’s toothbrush, and a bat’s five-star Yowl review for the Algerian Desert.
Information is presented through the animals’ voices which creates some amusing points of view. A lion ROARS about being the king of its one territory while a cheetah and giraffe counter with the advantages of moving to new areas. A Greater Bilby can’t share much in its chat room since it’s falling asleep during the daytime. A mockingbird gets annoying when it keeps repeating what other animals say. In another chat, a spotted salamander, an earth snake, and a mole talk about what they like to eat (worms), an earthworm is offended and says “I’m right here!”, so the salamander asks for a text of its location.
What didn’t work as well:
The book opens with a page telling readers to watch for an arctic tern in the pictures as it migrates across the planet. I was hoping this would tie the pages together, but the tern’s appearances aren’t highly noticeable. Consequently, information about animals from around the world seems to appear randomly. However, this isn’t a terrible problem as the information is presented in an amusing and entertaining style.
The Final Verdict:
I’m sure young readers will love this book and learn a lot about the diverse lives of animals. This information is kept simple in a humorous way, is accompanied by colorful photographs on every page, and is presented in a variety of styles. I highly recommend you give this book a shot!
November 28, 2022
This book talks in tween/teen language by teaching about animals through social-media-ease. Beginning with an Arctic Tern that migrates from the Arctic to the Antarctic, kids will follow along on its adventures. With a screen name of TernAround, kids will have to watch for it to turn up in conversations between its friends OneToothWonder the Narwhal, Hoofs_N_Horns the Musk ox, and FurryFiend the Arctic fox. Within those conversations, kids will learn fun facts about the animals either through their selfies, texts, Yowl reviews, and shopping searches.
I loved this Yowl review from monarch_caterpillar on the Common Milkweed Plant:
“The milkweed is the tastiest plant in the world! Plus, I love its big floppy leaves and beautiful pink flowers. Hmm, maybe I’m a teensy bit biased. It’s the only plant a monarch caterpillar is able to eat. Still, five stars!”
Using a spin-off of a Yelp food review, kids will learn what a milkweed looks like and what a monarch caterpillar eats all in one fact box. Pictures of both the caterpillar and the milkweed are also included.
This unique way of sharing information about various animals will engage kids right away and maybe even make them laugh a bit to think about how animals would react to social media. Of course, the pages are full of fun facts, amazing photography, hilarious jokes, and animal antics. The small size also makes this perfect for your animal-loving child’s stocking.
I loved this Yowl review from monarch_caterpillar on the Common Milkweed Plant:
“The milkweed is the tastiest plant in the world! Plus, I love its big floppy leaves and beautiful pink flowers. Hmm, maybe I’m a teensy bit biased. It’s the only plant a monarch caterpillar is able to eat. Still, five stars!”
Using a spin-off of a Yelp food review, kids will learn what a milkweed looks like and what a monarch caterpillar eats all in one fact box. Pictures of both the caterpillar and the milkweed are also included.
This unique way of sharing information about various animals will engage kids right away and maybe even make them laugh a bit to think about how animals would react to social media. Of course, the pages are full of fun facts, amazing photography, hilarious jokes, and animal antics. The small size also makes this perfect for your animal-loving child’s stocking.
July 16, 2022
Critter Chat is a National Geographic Kids book that frames itself as the social media of its subjects. Texts/dm messages, reviews, Instagram posts, and the like form the majority of the book, all from the POV of an animal. On rare occasions, some pages cover a subject from a standard scientific POV that one would find in non-fiction works.
The book is amusing. It uses its humor to help educate readers about its subjects through comedy. There are various animal subjects that the book covers - from the well-known to the niche.
However, I feel it is best as a coffee table book that one flips through on occasion. Kids may enjoy it as a straight read but for older readers, it may get repetitive.
The book is amusing. It uses its humor to help educate readers about its subjects through comedy. There are various animal subjects that the book covers - from the well-known to the niche.
However, I feel it is best as a coffee table book that one flips through on occasion. Kids may enjoy it as a straight read but for older readers, it may get repetitive.
August 2, 2022
What if animals could talk? What do you think they would say? Wouldn’t it be fun to follow them on social media? National Geographic Kids has created a fun way for kids to seemingly see how animals could react on social media. Each page is filled with silly puns and make-shift comments set by photos and fun facts splashed throughout the pages. There are plenty of animal selfies and how animals actually communicate in their environments. Young readers will also learn about real animal influencers.
May 30, 2022
This was HILARIOUS! A prime example of Mosco's impeccable humor. I was impressed by how clever it was, and I learned even more about some amazing animals! Appreciated the breadth of various ecosystems included. I hope my students love this book as much as I did.
January 4, 2023
Amusing look at how animals would use social media. I appreciate the informative text interwoven with the various platforms.
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June 10, 2024Eldest checked out, may have read
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December 1, 2022This was great. A couple of my favorite lines:
"This place has everything I could ever want in a dining establishment! It's hot, it's dry, it's sandy, and it's packed with scorpions." (23) the desert long-eared bat's YiPAdvisor review of the Algerian desert
"Plains Zebra & Yellow-billed Oxpecker ...
When ticks bite my zebra pal, I'm here to help. I swoop down and eat those pests! I also drink a little zebra blood while I'm at it. OK, maybe a lot of zebra blood." (30)
Sea turtle: "Well SHELLO there!"
"This place has everything I could ever want in a dining establishment! It's hot, it's dry, it's sandy, and it's packed with scorpions." (23) the desert long-eared bat's YiPAdvisor review of the Algerian desert
"Plains Zebra & Yellow-billed Oxpecker ...
When ticks bite my zebra pal, I'm here to help. I swoop down and eat those pests! I also drink a little zebra blood while I'm at it. OK, maybe a lot of zebra blood." (30)
Sea turtle: "Well SHELLO there!"
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews