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A Llama Is Not an Alpaca: And Other Mistaken Animal Identities
Combining scientific facts with the art of poetry, this is a humorous and educational picture book about animals that look alike.
How do you tell a llama from an alpaca, an alligator from a crocodile, or a dolphin from a porpoise? The animal kingdom is full of creatures that look so similar to others that they are often confused for each other. A Llama Is Not an Alpaca pairs rhyming animal riddles with factual responses to both teach and engage young readers as they compare and contrast features of commonly misidentified animals. How many will you get right?!
How do you tell a llama from an alpaca, an alligator from a crocodile, or a dolphin from a porpoise? The animal kingdom is full of creatures that look so similar to others that they are often confused for each other. A Llama Is Not an Alpaca pairs rhyming animal riddles with factual responses to both teach and engage young readers as they compare and contrast features of commonly misidentified animals. How many will you get right?!
32 pages, Hardcover
Published January 1, 2023
34 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 5, 2023
This will be really good for teaching compare and contrast.
October 8, 2023
Author Karen Jameson and Illustrator Lorna Scobie ask young readers if they can distinguish between 9 pairs of creatures that are frequently confused.
A rabbit or a hare?
A butterfly or a moth?
A clam or an oyster?
A turtle or a tortoise?
A frog or a toad?
A puffin or a penguin?
An alpaca or a llama?
A porpoise or a dolphin?
A crocodile or an alligator?
And finally a TRIO that often gets confused:
A wasp, hornet, or bee?
The illustrations by Lorna Scobie includes the animals with human-like expressions as they are depicted in a small area of their natural habitats. The explanations for how to tell these pairs apart are clear and informative.
There is not backmatter, but the last page has a congregation of all of the creatures depicted prior. It's a fun summary for the readers as the text offers this closing thought: "Who mastered each and every clue? Results are in. The winner is YOU!"
A rabbit or a hare?
A butterfly or a moth?
A clam or an oyster?
A turtle or a tortoise?
A frog or a toad?
A puffin or a penguin?
An alpaca or a llama?
A porpoise or a dolphin?
A crocodile or an alligator?
And finally a TRIO that often gets confused:
A wasp, hornet, or bee?
The illustrations by Lorna Scobie includes the animals with human-like expressions as they are depicted in a small area of their natural habitats. The explanations for how to tell these pairs apart are clear and informative.
There is not backmatter, but the last page has a congregation of all of the creatures depicted prior. It's a fun summary for the readers as the text offers this closing thought: "Who mastered each and every clue? Results are in. The winner is YOU!"
September 9, 2023
Readers will love this charming investigation into confusing animal pairs. I think I got a perfect score, but there were definitely new facts I discovered! For example, I knew alpacas were smaller than llamas, but I never realized they had chubbier faces! And the difference between crocodiles and alligators has always eluded me. No more! Karen Jameson’s playful rhyming text directly addresses the reader, while Lorna Scobie’s illustrations portray their subjects with equal parts whimsy and accuracy. What a clever and entertaining way to present a subject we could all use a little schooling in.
August 1, 2023
Storytime: Animals, Nature
LOVED this book! It's a fun way to help kids (and adults, let's be honest here) tell similar animals apart. I would love to put this forward as a potential nominee for next year's Beehive Award in the Picture Book category... but it might be more non-fiction, and I'm on the picture book committee (even though our library system catalogs it as a picture book, but whatever).
I'll probably forward it to the the kids' non-fiction committee anyway. It's great!
LOVED this book! It's a fun way to help kids (and adults, let's be honest here) tell similar animals apart. I would love to put this forward as a potential nominee for next year's Beehive Award in the Picture Book category... but it might be more non-fiction, and I'm on the picture book committee (even though our library system catalogs it as a picture book, but whatever).
I'll probably forward it to the the kids' non-fiction committee anyway. It's great!
September 16, 2023
Brief summary: Readers are asked if they know the name of a pair of two animals that are similar in looks.
Comments: This book teaches how to look at specific traits to identify an animal.
I even learned the difference between crocodiles and alligators which I never knew before reading this book.
Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2
Comments: This book teaches how to look at specific traits to identify an animal.
I even learned the difference between crocodiles and alligators which I never knew before reading this book.
Rating: 3.5/5 📗📗📗1/2
August 15, 2023
A top notch picture book that encourages readers to guess the identity of various animals. I appreciate how the author weaves the animal facts into the story seamlessly. Would be a storytime hit with younger school ages.
Themes: llama
Ages: K-2nd grade
Pub year: 2023
Themes: llama
Ages: K-2nd grade
Pub year: 2023
October 9, 2023
Such a cute book that teaches kids and adults alike the difference between two similar looking and often mistaken animals by using a guessing game. With rhyming, descriptive wording and illustrations that show differences and similarities, this book is fun and informative.
October 16, 2023
This is a picture book for preschoolers and junior primary ages comparing animals that can often be confused. What's the difference between an alpaca and a llama? An alligator and a crocodile? Etc etc.
Short, easy to read, and educational.
Short, easy to read, and educational.
November 11, 2023
Fun combination of science and poetry. What's the difference between a turtle and a tortoise? Turtles have webbed feet or flippers and mostly live in water. Tortoises have stubby, non-webbed feet and live on land. Illustrations are appealing.
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April 3, 2023Saturday shift was slow, so read this short and sweet book. (It helped me find out what my stuffed animal was, so a win!)
April 8, 2023
This was actually really good- cute illustrations, effective rhymes, and I learned a thing or two, myself.
May 25, 2023
Great informational book about animal differences. Sets up opportunities to compare and contrast. The facts covered can help a reader identify the animals in real life.
June 17, 2023
I was disappointed that there was no backmatter!
June 24, 2023
Skimmed it, longer than I expected. The illustrations are cute and the rhymes don't annoy. Wish that there had been more in the way of actual facts at the end.
December 1, 2023
Big bright illustrations and easy to read text is going to make this a great addition to storytime!
April 23, 2024
Very cute
May 14, 2024
Delightful!! Colorful and captivating illustrations paired with great nonfiction text full of animal facts make this book a winner. It’s sure to be a crowd pleaser in my elementary library!
July 15, 2024
great concept, well executed.
March 19, 2025
Great science guessing book about look alike animals
November 2, 2023
My six-year-old grandson and I zoomed through this cute children's nonfiction book about animals we get confused about: hare/rabbit; turtle/tortoise; dolphin/porpoise, etc. It took us a little less than ten minutes to read and digest. Ian seemed to be charmed and learned something.
My review: https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/...
My review: https://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com/...
January 24, 2025
Cute picture book with a rhyme about two different similar animals (e.g. rabbit vs. hare, llama vs. alpaca, etc.) and then the next page will have additional pictures for comparison and information about how to tell them apart.
As a personal note, on the puffin/penguin page, I don't like that there is no mention that puffins are only found in the northern hemisphere while penguins are only found in the southern hemisphere.
Satisfies 52 Book Challenge 2025 Prompt: #36. Final Sentence Less than 6 Words ("The Winner's YOU!")
As a personal note, on the puffin/penguin page, I don't like that there is no mention that puffins are only found in the northern hemisphere while penguins are only found in the southern hemisphere.
Satisfies 52 Book Challenge 2025 Prompt: #36. Final Sentence Less than 6 Words ("The Winner's YOU!")
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews