I received a copy of this book last Autumn from Laurence King Publishing in the hopes that I would like it enough to talk about it. Well, I really do like it and better late than never to finally share about it. (A reminder that I do not share books unless I really want to.) Let’s take a look at Tell Us Apart by Lucy Thorn & Lucy Rose, 2024.
The book opens by discussing how easy it is to mistake some animals for each other. It is a humorous note about the many similarities between a handful of animals. Then the book goes into spreads that detail the differences between various similar animals.
The animals included have a broad range: from rabbits and hares, to seals and sea lions, llamas and alpacas, toads and frogs, and many birds and insects.
The information strikes a great balance between informative and interesting. There are humorous comments and a good amount of facts. I can imagine many a person nerding out over knowing such intricate facts like the color of gulls’ eyes or the color of chins on an otter versus a mink.
While I love the tone of the text, the real star to keep the book alive is the illustrations by Lucy Rose. They are vibrant and beautiful and have a great illustrative style that keeps them accurate, but not photo-realistic. I’m super impressed by them.
I have found myself turning to this book a couple times over the last few months to determine what the difference is between certain species we encounter here – especially bees and wasps! I should also note there is a helpful glossary in the back as well.
I hope you enjoyed the peek at this new book. It’s a great non-fiction addition to any picture book shelves and an especially great gift for inquisitive kids who love animals, love facts, or just constantly ask what the difference is!
Thanks to Laurence King Publishing for the book to review! We’ll be long enjoying this one.
Three Books a Night 