CCBC booklist are compiled from books we have recommended in various editions of CCBC Choices. Most of these booklists are updated annually. You can also select books from one or more booklists to create a custom list, which can also include additional books from the CCBC-Recommended Book Search.
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My Presentation Today Is About the Anaconda
CCBC Review:
A series of oral reports on animals is delivered by other animals in a fiction/nonfiction hybrid that is equal parts hilarious and informative. A cleaner fish presents on its “favorite customer,” the shark, who has “yummy leftovers between his teeth.” Some animals choose their subjects based on similarities between them: A zebra talks about purely black-and-white animals, and a midwife toad points out that both midwife toads and koalas (his topic) carry their young with them. Animals in the audience chime in with questions, comments, and even criticism. (“I would like to know how you can sleep at night after all the murders you’ve committed of members of my family,” a goose asks a fox, who delivers a controversial report on geese.) Alongside ample animal trivia, tips on research and presentations are cleverly woven into the narrative (A howler monkey who gives a presentation on unicorns is told, “You have to say ‘I consulted such-and-such a book.’”), and misinformation is dispelled (Gila monsters do not have the “breath of death”). Subjects and presenters are wide-ranging and include insects, arachnids, fish, reptiles, amphibians, crustaceans, birds, and mammals. The final chapter on compiling an index is the cherry on top of this fresh, brilliant volume (or the breast on the goose carcass, if you’re the fox). Full-page color portraits of the animal subjects contribute to the playfulness. ©2026 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by
Annemarie van Haeringen
Translated by
Nancy Forest-Flier. Translated from Dutch. Originally published in the Netherlands.
CCBC Age Recommendation: 8-12
Age Range:
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13)
Formats:
Novel
Substantial Narrative Non-Fiction
Subjects:
Animals (Fiction)
Animals (Informational)
Humor
Rumor, Myth and Misinformation
On CCBC Booklist:
Family Read-Alouds
Publishers:
Levine Querido, Em Querido
Publish Year: 2025
Pages: 223
ISBN: 9781646145102
CCBC Location: Non-Fiction, 590 Tak
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Our Recommended Book Search includes access to CCBC-recommended titles based on subject headings created by our staff.
Please send questions or comments about CCBC booklists to ccbcinfo@education.wisc.edu.