Just One Bite

by Lola M. Schaefer, Geoff Waring (Illustrator)

This fabulous, life-sized introduction to what animals eat, how they eat it, and how much they eat in a single bite is full ofcompelling facts and images. From the tiny sand-grain-sized bite of earth that the earthworm takes to the double-gatefold spread of a sperm whale sucking a whole giant squid down in just one bite, this book and the eleven animals in it are EXACTLY as large as life!

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

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2010

About the author

Lola M. Schaefer is an educator, writer, and gardener, and the author of many acclaimed books for children about math, art, science, technology, animals, and nature. She uses shovels, hoes, rakes, and scissors when she works in her garden. Lola M. Shaefer grew up in Indiana, and now lives in northern Georgia.

Reviews

[Brianna Deines]

1.How Do Dinosaurs Eat Their Food?
by Jane Yolen, Mark Teague (Illustrator)
2010

2. Twin Connection- The theme of both books is food. Using the twin text as more of a support on manners with eating where as the nonfiction text is about what amounts certain animals eat. They can work well with one another if doing a unit on what animals/people eat and how they eat it.

3. Description

4.Strategy Application- Students could pick an animal and do a poster or report on it. These two books would give them the information and ideas of what that animal eats, how much it eats, and possibly is there a certain way they eat it (using manners).

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a great introduction to what animals eat and the actual size of the animals and their food. I liked the information on all of the animals in the back. My concern as a librarian is the actual size of this book. It is HUGE! I think most children would be hard pressed to find a bookbag or backpack that this would fit in. When students can't get books in their bags, that's when they tend to get damaged.

[Donalyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book describes the eating capacities and habits of several animals. I think a much better animal comparison book is Jenkins' Actual Size.

[Annie DeLuco · Rating 2 out of 5]

This cute book is all about what animals eat and how they eat it. This book has multiple animals, eleven to be exact, and explain the differences in how and what they eat. This book is a good lesson for science. It can begin a lesson that goes into how people or things live and survive, how animals are different from people, and so many others. The illustrations are also very cute, in my opinion! My favorite is the title page!

[Jessica Tirone · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was about animals and how they eat and what they eat. There are many animals in this book, a variety of them and they all explain how they eat and the differences between them all. This could be used with a science lesson on which animals eats meats, plants and everything in between. I will defiantly use this book in my future classroom.

[Liz Todd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kinderperfect!

[Michelle Farella · Rating 4 out of 5]

So cool!

[Lori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting. Fans of Steve Jenkin's books will like it. It ended a little flat for me.

[Dayna Ball · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just One Bite is a Informational text for k-3

This book is really neat because it shows you how much an animal can eat with actual proportions
The illustrations are terrific!!

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cool.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think they should do "Just One Footprint." My 4 and 7yo boys loved this book. My 4yo wanted to keep looking at the pictures and measuring. My 7yo loved the extra information at the back.

[Addison · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was fun to read. It can help students learn about nature.

[E.S. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just One Bite is a non-fiction book written by Lola Schaefer and illustrated by Geoff Waring about 11 different animals and what things that they eat. Starting with a tiny worm and ending with a giant sperm whale, this book takes children on a journey through different environments as they look at animals big and small and what their bites look like!
This book is simple, featuring very few sentences (1-2) per page with full page spread illustrations. The book itself isn’t interactive but the sperm whale is so big that the Waring has flaps that can be extended to show just how big a sperm whale is! (of course, not a life size portrayal!). The vocabulary is simple and almost repetitious with the wording (e.g. with just one scoop, a worm can eat...this much dirt (and everything in it!) and with just one sip, a butterfly can eat...this much nectar). This simple dialogue is perfect for younger children ages 3 and up.
The illustrations show each animal that is mentioned in the text (if an octopus is mentioned, there is an illustration of an octopus) and each illustration is realistic, yet bright and eye-opening. The animals aren’t illustrated as being too frightening (the most frightening animal in this book is a Komodo dragon, but even then, it’s not that creepy) Usually the illustrations show 2-3 objects per page, which is the animal and then what the animal is eating, and perhaps something that they are resting or sitting on. There are also illustrations in the text that portray the bites. For example, as mentioned previously, “with just one sip, a butterfly can eat...this much nectar,” after the ellipses, there is a small illustration of how much nectar a butterfly can consume in one sip.
This book is a little long at 32 pages, but because of the dialogue, the illustrations, and the simplicity of both, this is a non-fiction book that would be developmentally appropriate for ages 3 and up (although perhaps a little too simple for school-aged children, so probably ages 3-6).

[☼Bookish in Virginia☼ · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Bear.
a Komodo dragon.
an Octopus
a Parrot
a Sperm Whale
a Butterfly
a Rabbit
a Frog
an Elephant
a Worm

It's not just a question of what they eat, but how much!

Curious kids are going to like this one. Just One Bite opens up the world of animals one mouth at a time. With minimal text and bright, colorful artwork they are going to be able see exactly how a giraffe eats, and what. My own personal favorite was the worm. I was surprised at how much they could eat at one time. Who knew?

THE SKINNY:::
Just One Bite is an interesting early-science book that introduces children to the habits and habitats of 11 animals. The animals range from a tiny worm to a giant whale with creatures that inhabit land, sea and air.

I really like the information provided, and the fact that the book is very large and colorful and could easily be used with more than one child.

I could also see homeschoolers and teachers using it as the basis of a science unit where you could expand upon the notion of habitat and food chain.

Our one complaint came from my 8-year old son who wanted more 'exact' artwork, and who had a little trouble interpreting the pictures.

Everyone loved the pages that folded out so that the artwork sprawled over 4 pages!


Just One Bite
* Accelerated Reading level : Generic 2
* Hardcover: 32 pages
* Publisher: Chronicle Books (September 1, 2010)
* ISBN-10: 0811864731

THE TECHNICAL BITS:::
Reading Level: generic 2
Interest Level: 4-8

Appellations:
*Starred* review from Kirkus

Pam T~
mom/blogger
booksforkids-reviews

[Tim]

Yum Yum! What Fun!, Mara Bergman, 2009.

Just One Bite is unique in that it shows, in real-life size, the amounts of food that various animals eat, from a worm to a sperm whale. Yum Yum! What Fun! describes various animals who are attracted to a bakery by the irresistible smell of baking bread. While the animals' snacks in this book are not as true to life as in the other, the characters in both works truly love their snacks.

Just One Bite is arranged in a description structure, where each page clearly illustrates just how much a given animal can eat. It would be interesting to engage in a KWL activity, soliciting what students know or believe about what various animals eat and in what amounts. After the fiction text, a discussion could be centered around what was faulty with the book and what the listed animals truly do eat.

(2011, February 4). Horn Book Guide. http://www.booksinprint2.com.leo.lib....#

[Brooke Murray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just One Bite has been by far my favorite informational book that I've read. It presents accurate information to the reader about the actually bite size of animals with illustrations instead of photographs like most informational books have. It helps kids to see the actual size bites of animals like elephants, whales, giraffes and other animals in a fun way by the readers being able to unfold certain pages to make them bigger so that the bite size is actually real. I liked this informational book a lot because of the illustrations and because it's so much different than the normal informational book that you see on the shelves. I would recommend this book to any younger reader because it makes it easier to understand the information than with a book that has a lot of words. This is fun book for kids to read and for adults to read with them and it helps that they are learning factual information along with reading a fun book!

[Anna Wallman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jättefräckt att man ser hur stor maten är och hur stor munnen är på de olika djuren! Kul med jättestort utvik på kaskelot.
Antar att de tänkt att små barn ska läsa denna och ha bara en rad text på varje sida, och så har de samlat faktatexten längst bak på två sidor, tätt skrivna. Jag som läste med en sjuåring hade hellre haft faktatexten om varje djur på respektive sida, det var jobbigt att all fakta kom sist. Om man hade den extra texten i en ruta på varje sida med ett frågetecken på så kan ju de som inte vill veta så mycket hoppa över den? Eller ha den under en lucka på varje sida? Eller ha all fakta först i boken, så kan man bläddra tillbaka till början för att läsa på på varje djur. Nu blev jag jätteöverraskad över att hitta två tättskrivna sidor sist. Tur det inte var sent på natten ;)

[Judy Desetti · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept is good but I enjoyed Actual Size by Steven Jenkins better.

Actual Size

I was not fond of the art work in Just One Bite. Parts of it were oversized i.e.: frog,parrot while others were reduced in size. This would make it harder for kids who lack exposure to grasp size and concept. Another hurdle is it is so huge that it will be hard to shelve and hard for kids to handle. It will not fit into backpacks and desks easily.

[Mary Crytzer · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a toss up as to whether I like the book. The beginning of the book would grab a child's attention by the illustrations. I also think the illustrations are scary. When the komodo dragon eats the snake, the snake has an innocent, almost trusting expression with huge green eyes. The next page shows the tail of the snake pitifully sticking out of the dragons mouth, with saliva dripping. The illustration of the octopus would give me nightmares. There is a fold out page and when opened the is a huge picture of the octopus' eyeball.
I did enjoy reading about the eating habits of each animal at the end of the book, but wonder if it is age appropriate.

[Kayla Quinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just One Bite described how 11 animals were able to take just one bite in order to eat their food. The illustrations were beautiful, constructed and very visual. This book can be read at age 2 all the way to age 6 or 7. Children may even find a certain animal that they love, then they will be able to see how they capture their food. By age 4, the children should understand what is going on just by the pictures. Ages 2-3, it can just purely for enjoyment, and something for the children to be fascinated with. This book was also an informational text because at the end there were little short paragraphs describing which body parts the animals use to capture their food.

[Courtney Angelo]

This book is a fun read for the classroom, but it's full of facts! I think children would really enjoy this, because I know I did. The author does a great job of incorporating real life images and illustrations into this book so that children can get a full understanding of what various animals eat. I was even surprised by some of the things that were listed! I would like to use this book in the classroom then add an extension activity; I really think children would enjoy learning more about animals and their eating habits. A fun read!

[Erin Buhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

What could you eat in just one bite? This book answers that question for 11 different animals with life sized illustrations and creative flair. Informative non-fiction text about what different animals eat and how they eat it. It is the interesting comparison between the animals and what each can consume in just one bite that is fascinating. From the tiny earthworm to the gigantic sperm whale large as life illustrations depict each fact in a way that draws in the reader. Delightful, engaging, and informative. The perfect non-fiction book for kids.

[Ina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read 3/28/11 as part of "Just Eat it" storytime. Several of the kids in the audience stated this was their favorite today. Big colorful illustrations show eleven animals and what is for each of them a "life size" bite of food. From a tiny dot of dirt for a worm to a four-page spread of a sperm whale gulping down his lunch: a giant squid. There are even notes at the end with more serious information for the kids who want to know more..

[Nancy Jo Lambert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the concept of this book, and the large format certainly makes it fun. However, I don't feel like this book is going to be super fascinating for all kids. I see this being a great resource in the classroom and see some kinds really singking their teeth into the facts found with in these pages.

It is well written and the illustrations are, for the most part, well done. The condensed facts at the end are also a nice bonus.

[Cherilyn Latimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is interesting because it shows how the animals look, how they eat, what they eat, and how much they can eat in one bite. This book is good for teaching kids about animals and involving them in their learning experience because most kids love different animals anyway. I would recommend this book to teach children the difference of how much an animal can eat verses how much they or another human can eat. Overall I thought this was a cute little story on animals.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really, really cool. Even as an adult I was jazzed about reading it. The book shows what different animals eat. Additionally how much an animals meal consists of. Portion control?!?!?! It's a nutrition professionals dream come true!

Further bonus points include the back of the book where there are more detailed explanations to answer some questions your child(ren) may have. If your child has a fascination with animals then read this!

[Chris Young · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just One Bite presents an intriguing concept: how do other animals stuff their faces? No surprise here, the bigger the mouth the bigger the bite. The illustrations invite comparison to Steve Jenkins' Actual Size and as a result come up short. An appendix in the back gives more detail about each animal and their eating habits.

[Shelby Usrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a really good book to read to the classroom for a science lesson!! It has great information with amazing illustrations with it as well! It has a great way of explaining what different animals eat and the book is big enough to show the bite size of each animal! This book is so adorable!!

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My five-year-old son picked this book out from the library this week.

This book isn't quite as good as "Actual Size", but it still was a fun, entertaining and educational read. I liked the illustration of the rabbit; my son liked the illustration of the sperm whale eating a giant squid -- there was a little something for everyone.

[Jamie Aabel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shows the real size of the food that various animals eat. From earthworms to sperm whales, many different kinds of animals are represented. This book is an excellent introduction to the food chain for emergent readers. I would put the age of child this book is appropriate for from 3 years to 7 so I would only recommend for primary grades.