Animal Talk: How Animals Communicate Through Sight, Sound, and Smell

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Spiny lobsters make a rasping sound to warn each other of predators.
Ring-tailed lemurs wave their tails at each other during a stink fight.
Male waterstrider insects vibrate their legs on a water surface to warn
other males to stay away or be prepared to fight. Birds do it. Bees do
it. Even angry chimpanzees do it. Communicate, that is. This book
discusses the many amazing ways animals talk with each other—and even
with other species.

In Animal Talk, award-winning author and teacher Etta Kaner discusses
dozens of amazing ways animals converse with each other using sounds,
expressions, and even excretions. The chapter titles include “Saying
It with Sound,” “Saying It with Smell,” “Body Language,”
“Sending Signals,” “Lighting Up,” and “Talking with Humans.”

Kaner has done an exceptional job of explaining the virtually endless
variety of communication methods animals have developed. She also
discusses how humans talk to animals and how some animals, like
gorillas, have learned to talk back. Students who wish to enhance their
knowledge of animal communication can try out the experiments (which
require minimal equipment) suggested in the book. Each page features at
least one vibrant, very realistic illustration by Greg Douglas. An index
is included for easy reference. Highly recommended.