This non-fiction book is designed to use as an instructional tool. It begins by defining camouflage and mimicry, as well as predator and prey. The words that are defined are also in bold and included in the glossary in the back of the book. What are Camouflage and Mimicry? emphasizes that camouflage is the color/pattern on an animal’s body that allows it to blend in, while mimicry involves looking like something that it is not. Animals can use mimicry to look like rocks, plants, other animals, and even bird droppings! The book develops by mentioning examples of animals that use camouflage/mimicry in different ways. Animals can be a single color, have spots and stripes, or change their shade completely, like the leaf-tailed gecko. They try to blend into the environment, like polar bears in the arctic. Some animals are even equipped with spots that look like eyes, called false eyespots, to fool their enemies. Some of the animals are transparent, such as the glass frog. Other animals are brightly-colored, not to blend into the environment, but to warn their enemies that they are dangerous or to attract mates. The syrphid fly is colored like a wasp, but it is actually harmless. What are Camouflage and Mimicry? includes brilliant pictures of animals who have these amazing characteristics. Most of the animals are ones that students are not familiar with. This brings students outside of their normal knowledge of animals and demonstrates the vast variety of animals in our animal kingdom.
One of the science standards for elementary school states that students must build an understanding of how animals interact with the environment. This book is a perfect example to demonstrate this standard. There are over fifty examples of animals that use camouflage and mimicry to survive in their environment. Since camouflage and mimicry can be found in many different varieties, it might be helpful to make a list of the different types as you read the book, and include examples of animals as well. You could ask students to choose an animal to study in more depth, or search other books and resources to find more animals to put in the different categories. You could also do an extension to the lesson by including technology. Show students that a lot of the technology that we use is inspired by mimicking the behavior and adaptations of animals.
