This book about predators and the food chain is simple and accessible for children. The illustrations are not gory or especially frightening (the most graphic might be the zebra open-mouthed in terror as the lionness pounces). The text is more descriptive and doesn't mince words ("The vultures reach deep inside the dead zebra with their long necks and tear off bits of meat and intestine.") Brief sidebars elaborate on the main text. Straightforward and compelling prose about the food chain. ( )

After the Kill explains how the food chain works in the savannah. I think this is a very important book, but I would not read it just to any class- I would leave it for science class. It's kind of morbid for children, but it explains what happens to animals and how they survive. Lions kill the antelope, smaller animals eat the antelope along with the lions, and the antelope decomposes into the grass and the whole cycle starts again. ( )

Excellent, realistic portrait of predators, prey, and scavengers on the plains of East Africa. ( )

The hunt, the kill, and the dispostion of the carcass - told in a picture book format, with nuggets of information placed here and there in text. ( )

After the kill by Darrin Lunde, illustrated by Catherine Stock

The author follows a lioness’ kill from tracking to killing, eating, and the other predators that also share the kill; vultures, hyenas, jackals, and maggots. The text is simple but dramatic, not shying away from the violent interactions between prey and predator and the various animals’ fights over the carcass. Additional information about the various animals and their relationships is included in small captions on several pages.

This book is well-written and would have been a great stomach-turning read for school visits or older kids in a storytime, but Catherine Stock's gentle watercolors are NOT suited for this text! Created in pencil, watercolor and gouache, her paintings seem to be trying to soften the harsh life and death drama of the story, but only succeed in confusing it. The animals are blurry, without form or line and it’s difficult to follow the action in the swirling, messy artwork. Besides which, maggots and watercolor simple don’t go together.

Verdict: I’d like to see a similar title with photographs or more detailed, concrete drawings. I don’t recommend this one.

ISBN: 978-1570917431; Published July 2011 by Charlesbridge; Borrowed from the library