Publication Date: October 25, 2022
An African Wildlife Adventure in Poems and Paintings
Can You Spot the Leopard? is author/artist Karen B. Winnick’s newest picture book, an adventuresome African safari presented through poems and full-color paintings. Readers begin at sunrise, climbing into a jeep for a bumpy ride to view the wondrous animals as they would on a real safari. All the poems are based on real observations of what animals do in the wild, related in an accessible way. There’s even a sighting, finally, of the elusive leopard, before returning to safari camp under a starry night. At the back of the book, further information is related about each animal. A fun, informational, educational adventure to read and reread.
Using vivid illustrations accompanied by a deliberate sense of rhyme in the text, author Karen Winnick takes readers on an African safari with Can You Spot the Leopard?
The book’s illustrations serve as the focal point as different types of animals are introduced. Depending on the age of the audience, the illustrations alone will provide a perfect guide for impromptu descriptions.
For an older audience, the text will deliver new animals native to Africa, such as bat-eared foxes, bushbucks, and marabou storks. The accompanying text may prove to be a bit challenging for some readers with words such as “cavorting” and “euphoric.”
However, as an adult reader, the end result is a delightful mix of illustrations and figurative text that brings the animals (and the safari) to life. The guide at the end of the story listing all of the animals, along with details about each one, delivers some key takeaways.
Can You Spot the Leopard? takes readers on an African safari and brings the animals to life through beautiful illustrations and descriptive text.
Karen B. Winnick is a children’s author and artist, animal enthusiast, and president of the Los Angeles Zoo Commission. Her previous books include Gemina, the Crooked-Neck Giraffe and Mr. Lincoln’s Whiskers. She lives in Los Angeles, California.
