Title: Creep, Leap, Crunch: A Food Chain Story

Author: Jody Jensen Shaffer

Illustrator: Christopher Silas Neal

Publisher/Year: Alfred A. Knopf/2023

Favorite Line from the Book: There was a huge forest of grasses and trees that blew in the cool of a blustery breeze.

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If you’re searching for an action-packed picture book that features animals, nature, educational back matter, and rollicking rhyming text, you’ve found it! Author Jody Jensen Shaffer’s book Creep, Leap, Crunch: A Food Chain Story, has all of that and more. The story, told in a cumulative fashion akin to There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, introduces and “connects” a food chain in a deciduous forest in a satisfying way. Not only that, but the lyrical text is so much fun to read aloud.

I must admit, being an animal lover, I was a tad concerned about how the story was going to turn out. After all, it follows six hungry animals from sunrise to sunset as they swoop in on their prey. But I’m ecstatic to report that, after several daring escapes, the ending is delightful and happy.

Illustrator Christopher Silas Neal’s depictions of landscapes, vegetation, and animals, including various insects, such as a cricket, as well as a deer mouse, a red milk snake, a red-tailed hawk, a red fox, and a black bear, are charming and detailed, and were rendered in slightly muted tones, using mixed media. Be sure to look under the book jacket for a surprise case cover (also known as an undie!).

Back matter features a short glossary and interesting information about each specific animal in the book. For example, black bears can be black, gray, cinnamon, or white. And red milk snakes can grow up to two feet long.

Overall, Creep, Leap, Crunch: A Food Chain Story is a great first introduction to food chains for kids. The very youngest readers may find some of the images a smidge scary, though not enough to deter a parent and child from enjoying the book together.