Teachers' Choice Award Gold Moonbeam Children's Book Award  When Sophia dreams that howling winds whisk the fur and feathers right off her animal friends, she shares some of her clothes with them. But her clothing doesnt work well for the animals. Seeing their disappointment, she offers to sew each one the right coat. Animals line up to explain what they need and why. Polar Bear needs white fur to stay warm and hide in the snow. Fish needs scales, but with slime. Snake needs scales too, but dry ones. And how will Sophia make a prickly coat for Porcupine? The award-winning team of Halfmann and Klein ( Little Skink's Tail ) reunite to bring animal coverings (and classification) to life in an imaginative way. Sophia's friends include Duck, Fish, Frog, Ladybug, Polar Bear, Porcupine, Snail, and Snake. The For Creative Minds educational section includes: Scientific Classification, Skin Coverings, and Animal Classification. Additional Teaching Activities and Interactive Quizzes are available on the Arbordale Publishing website. PreS-Gr 1–Sophia dreams that a howling wind comes in and whisks away all the fur and feathers on the animals in the book she was reading. She tries to help them by sharing her clothes, but none of them suit the animals' needs. Then she decides to make new coats for them: scales for Snake, gray feathers for Duck, pins and needles for Porcupine, etc. The major problem with this book is that it hammers children over the head with its message of various animal coverings, and youngsters who are learning about the topic may be bored by this simplistic story. The book is wordy and tedious, and the illustrations and text do not flow together. The art is pleasant enough and does a good job of capturing the animals realistically, but there is nothing truly outstanding here. This volume doesn't seem to know if it's fiction or nonfiction, and it does not succeed as either one. Additional facts appear at the end, including information on scientific classification of animals.–Lora Van Marel, Orland Park Public Library, ILα(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. "This is an incredible story! I LOVE it and know that it's found a home in my 'Animals, Animals, Everywhere' theme. . . .I'm very much looking forward to sharing it with my preschoolers!" --Katie's Literature Lounge " Fur and Feathers is a wonderful story of creativity, learning and the magic of animals. Any child who loves animals will thrill in this book. . . .I can't recommend Fur and Feathers enough." --Cafe of Dreams Fur and Feathers . . . .helps children believe in their dreams and imaginations, all while teaching children about the different animal coverings and why each animal needs to have their very own kind of covering." --Story Time Under the Stars "Highly recommended as a read aloud for the younger set, and a read aloud science-based picture book through mid-elementary." --She's Too Fond of Books "My little girl just loved this tory. . . .this was a great book to teach her why the animals had different type of skin to keep them warm. . . .and what a fun way for her to learn about it." --Chrissy's World of Books Fur and Feathers is a story of creativity, friendship, and animal coverings. I decided to write the story after I noticed on Arbordale Publishing's website that the editor was looking for a story on animal "wraps." Right away, that topic fascinated me. As I brainstormed possibilities, I got the idea to have a storm blow off all of the animals' coverings, and that worked perfectly. I decided it would be fun to dress the "coatless" animals in kid clothes, which I did, but the story needed something more. Then I remembered the big sewing basket filled with odds and ends that I always kept handy for creating or fixing whatever while my kids were growing up. Sophia could find things in the basket and use her creativity to make new coats just right for the animals. As she worked, Sophia (seemingly all on her own) started adding her own special touches, such as the little red heart behind the polar bear's ear. That was one of my favorite parts of writing the story. When Sophia dreams that howling winds whisk the fur and feathers right off her animal friends, she shares some of her clothes with them. But her clothing doesn t work well for the animals. Seeing their disappointment, she offers to sew each one the right coat. Animals line up to explain what they need and why. Polar Bear needs white fur to stay warm and hide in the snow. Fish needs scales, but with slime. Snake needs scales too, but dry ones. And how will Sophia make a prickly coat for Porcupine? The award-winning team of Halfmann and Klein (Little Skink s Tail) reunite to bring animal coverings (and classification) to life in an imaginative way. Sophia s friends include Duck, Fish, Frog, Ladybug, Polar Bear, Porcupine, Snail, and Snake. The For Creative Minds educational section inclu