Genius Noses - (Genius Animals) by Lena Anlauf (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Which animal can smell underwater? Which one uses their nose as a snorkel? What can animals do with their noses besides smell? Noses can tell us a lot about animal habits and habitats. An animal collection of special species from around the world- filled with amazing facts celebrating the diversity in nature."--

Book Synopsis

"Five stars out of five." -NY Journal of Books

A Bank Street Best Book of the Year, 2024
A Eureka! Nonfiction honor book

An illustrated collection about animal noses and their amazing functions! Early STEM has never been more fun. Everything kids ever wanted to know about animal noses around the world!

This special collection of animals takes us around the globe and amazes us at the curious diversity of nature. Whether it's the aardvark, the elephant, the pig, or the saiga antelope-- they all have wonderful noses. In addition to a wide array of functions, noses tell us a lot about animal habits and habitats.

Author Lena Anlauf has compiled the most exciting facts and stories about noses from the animal kingdom, while illustrator, Vitali Konstantinov, introduces us to the individual animals in impressive portraits--with wit and attention to detail.

Which animal can smell underwater? Which one uses their nose as a snorkel? What can animals do with their noses besides smell? Readers will find out this and more in this entertaining collection filled with surprising and unusual facts.

"The book gives fascinating insights into the world of animal noses. Whether small, large, round or star-shaped, you learn a lot of new things here. The wonderful world of noses is clearly explained with beautiful illustrations." -Pascal Marty, Zoo Zurich

Review Quotes

"Genius Noses is a winner for older kids. Five stars out of five."-- "NY Journal of Books"

"A prodigious portrait gallery of prominent proboscises."-- "Kirkus Reviews, starred review"

"Genius Noses is a small encyclopedia of fascinating animal facts with cute engaging pictures and illustrations featuring each animal. Kids who are interested in unique animals will enjoy studying its pages. "-- "Kiss the Book blog"

"Informative and thoroughly 'kid friendly' in organization and presentation, "Genius Noses: A Curious Animal Compendium" is an ideal and unreservedly recommended addition to family, elementary school, middle school, and community library Pets/Wildlife picture book collections."-- "Midwest Book Review"

"Readers can dip in and out for a plethora of engaging and even silly facts."--Angela Leeper "Booklist"

"Readers will return time and again to this book"-- "Children's Literature"

"This appealing nonfiction book invites readers to consider interesting noses in the animal kingdom. . . . From endpapers to index, there's a lot of information here. Part of the appeal is the way the information is presented. Cameo pictures of animals and text in green font are easy to parse."-- "Youth Services Book Review"

"This is a book for the curious, one that may well interest readers, younger and older alike, in learning still more about olfactory organs and their many uses."-- "Infodad"

"This is a great book to pique kids' interest in the wild wonders of the animal kingdom, highlight how one specific animal sense helps each animal survive and thrive while changing their environments (pollination and seed dispersal, for instance), and provide a broader sense of how animals are classified. Plus, the illustrations, rendered in ink and colored pencil on watercolor paper, are fabulous!"--Jilanne Hoffman "author, A River of Dust"

About the Author

Lena Anlauf was born in the Ruhr region of Germany. She studied bibliography and philosophy in Mainz and Leiden and completed a postgraduate course in the pedagogy of reading and literature as well as a remote course on children's and young adult literature at the STUBE in Vienna. Today she lives in Marburg, works as editorial director and editor at the Kunstanstifter Verlag, researches historical picture books, works on her own book projects, and puts on readings and workshops for children.

Vitali Konstantinov was born in Ukraine. He studied architecture and art and has taught illustration courses at universities in several countries as well as numerous workshops for children. His work has been exhibited extensively, has received many prizes, and has been published in forty different countries; he has been nominated for the German Children's Literature Award. Today Vitali works as a freelance illustrator and author and lives in Marburg. He drew the illustrations for his Genius Animals series with drawing ink and colored pencil on watercolor paper.

Marshall Yarbrough is a writer, translator, and musician. He has translated a number of books for NorthSouth. He lives in New York City with his wife and daughter.