Do you know some curious animal-loving kids? If that’s a big yes, then you don’t want to miss out on this new book Tricksters, Takers, and Team Players!
Tricksters, Takers, and Team Players: Teaming Up for the Hunt
Alisha Gabriel (author), Vivien Sárkány (illustrator)
Tielmour Press, September 12, 2026
Summary:
This non-fiction book describes symbiotic relationships between animals of different species. Through colourful illustrations and easy-to-understand text, kids of all ages will learn some of the many ways animals ensure their own survival. The author and illustrator beautifully describe the three main types of symbiosis, mutualism, commensalism and parasitism, through a multitude of fascinating examples.
Opening Lines:
Animals team up to hunt for many reasons…for safety, to capture prey from hard-to-reach places, or to find food more easily.
What I Thought of Tricksters, Takers, and Team Players:
I thought this was a super interesting read! I honestly had no idea about some of these animal relationships. Learning about the coyote and badger teaming up was a complete surprise for me. Likewise, the grouper and eel partnership.
If I was still teaching, I’d definitely include this book in my collection. It happens to fit with our B.C. grade 1 curriculum perfectly, where teachers are required to teach behavioural adaptations of animals in the local environment. And for those of you who live on the West Coast (as I do) you’ll appreciate that orcas and dolphins are featured in examples of two different types of symbiotic pairings.
I appreciated the gorgeous pictures and the easy-to-understand text. The scientific terms are omitted in the main text, but are included at the end of the book with a proper definition. Also included are a couple of questions that would be suitable to ask your young readers.
Classroom Connections:
After reading a book to my class, I would often follow-up with an activity. All the activities are suitable for a primary classroom. I’ve included a brief description of each activity, but full directions are in the free hand-out below.
- Who Helps Whom? (Worksheet). A drawing and writing activity.
- Could These Animals be Friends? (Pre Reading Activity). This is a fun prediction, brain warm-up activity.
- Musical Partners (Post Reading Activity). A movement activity that stresses teamwork.
- Animal Partnership Charades (Post Reading Activity). Just what it sounds like! Acting out animal partnerships.
- The Cooperation Challenge (Post Reading Activity). A hands-on cooperation activity that can be directly related back to the animals in the book.
- Find Your Partner (Post Reading Activity). This is that fun game where you wear an animal name on your back (you don’t know which animal you are) and you have to figure it out by walking around and asking your classmates “yes/no” questions.
- Animal Partnership Talk (Post Reading Activity). A great activity for oral language and comprehension.
For details and directions to the Classroom Connections…
Download Activities Here
Thanks for visiting and happy reading!
PS You can find more great book reviews and activities on my Kid Lit page.