Be an Icky Things Detective
Solving Nature’s Strange and Slimy Mysteries
text and illustrations by Peggy Kochanoff
Nimbus Publishing,2025
ISBN 978-1-77471-460-7
$17.95, 52 pp, ages 7 – 12
nimbus.ca
Be an Icky Things Detective is the latest title in the Be a Nature Detective series by Peggy Kochanoff. This non-fiction book is packed with intriguing facts about twenty plants and animals that have reputations for being “gross” or “icky.” Each entry begins with a question, such as: “How are maggots used to heal people who are sick? Why are slugs slimy? What’s the difference between a millipede and a centipede?” The purpose of each investigation is to answer the question and to underline the fact that what we may consider unexpected and strange differences are actually adaptations that the animals and plants have made in order to survive.
Classroom Connections: In addition to its usefulness within the science curriculum, the inclusion of many text features makes the content of this book accessible to younger readers and a valuable tool for teaching students how to read non-fiction books. Finely detailed watercolour paintings provide context for the text. Other text features include title, introduction, headings, bold words, diagrams, labels, captions, a glossary, and a reference page.
Review by Brenda Boreham.
This review is featured in Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Winter 2026 issue.
