Although binomial nomenclature is a grown-up term, kids will have fun wowing others with their knowledge of the common names of many baby animal species. Cartoon illustrations, created digitally, and rhyming text display animals announcing their infant names. A duck, goose, and puffin together exclaim, "I was born a hatchling"--the duck "fluffed into a duckling," the goose "grew into a gosling," and the puffin "puffed into a puffling." There can, however, be some confusing overlap among all these designations--for instance, baby giraffes, whales, and elephants are all called calves. Children will quickly catch on to the refrain: a creature shouts, "No way, no how! That can't be true!" as the other species reply, "I'm a [chick/calf/cub/etc.] too!" Some lesser-known newborns have very unusual names (porcupette, puggle, joey, hoglet). And what about humans? A boy shouts, "I was born a baby and grew into a kid," only to be accompanied by a final cry from a baby goat, "I'm a kid, too!" Endpapers present different circles for those who share the same baby name. Cool and informative.

Pups, calves, chicks, cubs, and other young announce themselves to comedic effect in this polished picture book, which tugs at the seeming illogic of nomenclature. Starting with a human child with dark brown skin, different youths present themselves ("I was born a baby./ I was born a colt.// I was born a piglet./ I'm a billy goat"), but a challenge arises when some discover they share a name. After a dog claims to be a pup, for example, a seal pipes up ("No way, no how!/ That can't be true!") as do a bat, beaver, and shark ("I'm a pup!/ I'm a pup!// I'm a pup, too!"). Though an end page might be read as comparing skin color and species, Scott's digitally rendered critters are wide-eyed and full of personality, and scenes vividly capture the absurdity afoot, echoing Fleming's rhythmic prose, which emphasizes the silliness of language and introduces vocabulary-building terms, such as hoglet and puggle. Ages 4--8. (Apr.)