Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 3^-5. These two readable titles in the Wildlife series are pleasing overviews of familiar animals. Each title examines environments, physical characteristics, survival techniques, growth and reproduction cycles, and relationships with other animals, including humans. Beavers highlights the distinctive architectural and building habits of this species. Focusing on four members of the same animal family, the second volume thoroughly describes the similarities and differences between the deer, moose, elk and caribou. Photo-like illustrations bring to life the worlds of these animals. Diagrams, maps, and sidebars presenting interesting facts, such as descriptions of pawprints, are attractively placed on each double-page spread. Solid choices for homework assignments or to whet the appetites of young wildlife lovers. Glossary appended. --April Judge
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4Two books in a series aimed at introducing young readers to the habitats and lifestyles of various members of the animal kingdom. Each double-page chapter provides general information and boxed insets that give additional facts, e.g., "A beaver family cuts down hundreds of trees a year." The texts are simple enough for newly independent readers to handle with little difficulty. The information is fairly general, but it's sufficient for short reports. Full-page drawings clearly illustrate their subjects. Of the two books, Beavers is slightly more successful, mainly because it focuses on one animal and thus can provide more detail. Deer, on the other hand, is a bit sketchy because it tries to cover several animals, devoting little space to each of them. The "New True" books (Children's) have slightly easier to read texts and photos that are not always as clear as the drawings featured in these books. Serviceable additions.Arwen Marshall, New York Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Logically organized, these books examine the habitats, physiology, diets, and behavioral traits of beavers or members of the deer family. Realistic illustrations show the animals in action in their habitats. A surprising amount of information is covered in each book, and the final pages describe signs (such as tracks and scent mounds) that will aid in spotting these animals in the wild. Glos., ind. From HORN BOOK Spring 1999, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
This entry in the Wildlife series features concise, clearly organized facts corraled into brief, dual-page chapters about North America's largest rodent, the beaver. Presented in picture-book form, an easily managed amount of information is presented that describes the beaver's habitat, tree-bark diet, anatomy, and special abilities. As with the muskrat, beavers are one of the few water rodents, equipped with design features that enable them to swim gracefully, as well as to sharply fell trees. The building of clams and lodges is explained in easy-to-follow, step-by-step directions, adding to the marvels of the natural world. An unusual, often startling ""beaver fact"" is highlighted in the comer of each spread. Naturalistic watercolors depict the beaver in many poses--rolling a twig as if it were corn on the cob or wedging sticks into a stream bed for the foundation of a dam. A particularly outstanding spread profiles the beaver diving through a sea of green, displaying its webbed feet, powerful tail, and milky eyelids underwater. Beaver signs, such as tracks, tree stumps, or seem mounds, will aid young observers in the wild; a glossary of terms completes this thorough examination. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
