Animal Picture Books: CHICKEN CHEEKS and DINOSAURS LOVE UNDERPANTS

Reviewed by Laura Madsen, mom, veterinarian and writer

Young kids are inordinately fascinated by bodily functions, as well as any associated anatomy, clothing or equipment. Here are two picture books that kids will find wickedly entertaining:

CHICKEN CHEEKS, written by Michael Ian Black and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, features rear ends across the animal kingdom. On the cover, a hen bends over, peeking between her legs and showing off her cheeks—her feathery, orange, plump, rear end. In the story, a variety of animals climb on each other to make a tower, trying to reach a honey comb at the top of a tree. Each animal’s name is accompanied by a euphemism for its bottom (“Moose caboose,” “Polar bear derriere, “Guinea pig buns,” and so on), and the illustrated rumps make kids giggle.

In DINOSAURS LOVE UNDERPANTS, written by Claire Freedman and illustrated by Ben Cort, we learn the real reason for the dinosaurs’ extinction—they coveted the cavemen’s underpants. Vast battles ensue as dinosaurs fight over multicolored briefs and panties. The rhyming text is fun for reading aloud: “The pants from Wooly Mammoth coats made Stegosaurus itchy. Diplodocus was really mad. His briefs were way too pinchy!” I read this to my daughter’s kindergarten class and they laughed hysterically.