Stepping in animal poop is rarely cause for celebration, but it is for a girl named Finn in a story that invokes not one, not two, but three meanings of the word “scat.” On a wildlife walk with her basset hound, Finn introduces her brand-new sneakers to a potpourri of animal scat: “Three-toed web prints grouped together./ Nearby floats a long tail feather./ With one trop-plop, Finn’s foot goes splat./ Oh no! She steps into… goose scat!” Morlock describes each animal’s habits and excrement in (extremely) detailed paragraphs: “Rabbits eat their own poop. When the scat comes out the first time, it’s in soft, moist pellets.” In addition to Bradshaw’s more fancifully painted spreads, the animals’ tracks and scat are depicted as they might appear in an animal identification guide. Nature-minded readers who are more careful than Finn about watching where they step will find plenty of information about what animals leave on the forest floor. Ages 4–8.

Track that Scat! is a picturebook about discovering the traces of common woodland creatures, including rabbits, chickadees, red foxes, and Canada geese. A young girl and her faithful dog venture on a woodland hike, and observe the tracks and feces of different animals (sometimes the girl accidentally steps in the scat – good thing she’s wearing boots)! Each two-page spread features a colorful picture of an animal, rhyming read-aloud story text up top, and a brief educational section of text at the bottom, including silhouettes of each animal’s types of tracks and waste. An educational, nature-minded storybook, Track that Scat! is just plain fun to read aloud, provided that neither the parents nor the children are squeamish about what animals do in the woods!

For young Finn and her hound, Skeeter, exploring the outdoors becomes a somewhat pungent adventure and a vehicle to introduce readers to identifying commonly known animals through their tracks and, particularly, droppings. From the onset, the pair encounters—and sometimes steps in—a progression of animal excrement: “With one trip-slip, Finn’s foot goes splat. Oh no! Right into . . . rabbit scat!” Further encounters include goose, raccoon, and bird poop. Back at home, Finn’s nose-pinching mom discovers the source of the horrendous smell: Finn’s footwear. This picture book’s bouncy rhymes, humor and puns, and colorful, cartoonish illustrations keep things on the lighter side. Straightforward supplemental information on each animal relates characteristics and behaviors while also further detailing track traits and scat habits. The squeamish might balk at times (rabbits “eat their own poop”; skunk scat can have “insect wings, legs, and other parts sticking out”), and some may wonder why Finn doesn’t become more observant about where she treads. A preface includes definitions of the word scat.