My Presentation Today is About the Anaconda

Written by Bibi Dumon Tak; tr. from the Dutch by Nancy Forest-Flier; illus. by Annemarie van Haeringen

Ah, the class presentation, the perennial assignment that is loved by few, feared by many. The elementary set might just be encountering the prospect of standing in front of a sea of their classmates—eager, bored, or mocking—while stumbling through a recitation of various facts and figures about an assigned (or if they’re lucky, chosen) topic. Extroverts will likely do just fine, introverts will muscle through it—but according to the classroom of animals in this month’s Big Picture, if any human child attempts to present about animals, they’re certain to get a failing grade. Humans are simply too boring to actually convey the majesty (or grossness or silliness) of their fellow animals, and so the twenty creatures in this ingenious anthology decide to present on twenty other animals to give readers an insider’s perspective on the world of the wild. The clever result is a send-up of the presentation formats, with classroom banter immediately recognizable to the human reader, that effectively and invitingly reveals scientific information about both the animal speakers and their subjects.

The first presentation of the day comes from the cleaner fish, whose topic is sharks but who mostly elaborates on its species’ roles in the hygiene of sharks and other fish. For example, the leftovers stuck between a shark’s many sharp teeth make a delicious meal for the cleaner fish, who also scrub the dead skin flakes out of its wounds (“It’s a disgusting job, but we love what we do”). In the titular presentation, the earthworm offers plenty of info about the anaconda but still adds some details about its own features in comparison (worms drown in water, for example, while the anaconda is an excellent swimmer). The midwife toad’s talk on koalas goes off the rails when explanations of koala baby-caretaking lead to questions about koala baby-making. And the poor Gila monster never even makes it to the front of the class as he’s promptly kicked out by his terrified classmates—though his pleas to stay include a host of facts about the misunderstood lizard.

The cacophonous interactions between the various animals easily replicate the feeling of a bustling, overenergized classroom that will surely be familiar to kids and educators alike, as various creatures shout over each other, jostling to get the attention of the speaker or bothering the poor barn owl, who seems to have been the elected de facto leader. Despite the chaos, each animal has a distinct voice, and though there’s plenty of overt humor in their presentations, a savvy comedy also runs through their selected topics and presentation styles. Both the hilarious howler monkey and the sly fox stick to their true natures, the former expounding on unicorn habits with a wink to the reader, and the latter detailing how absolutely delicious geese are. The shy hairy crab yells about blue tangs from the safety of its shell while the majestic snow leopard doesn’t even pretend to discuss anything other than its own regal beauty.

Each entry is accompanied by a childlike illustration of the animal, and illustrator van Haeringen uses a variety of mediums, effectively matching the vibe of the picture with the nature of the animal: the scarlet lily beetle is a bright pop of red against a richly saturated verdant background, highlighting the insect’s teeny size, while the aforementioned snow leopard is a sleek white and silver form of ethereal, chalky textures against an inky background. Between the eye-catching art and the chatty, accessible format, this makes a breezy invite for just recently-solo readers to engage with a scientific text without being overwhelmed by jargon and overwrought details. Both teachers and parents should have this on hand to freshen up the stale class project on the animal kingdom.

—Kate Quealy-Gainer, Editor