Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 2^-3, younger for reading aloud. Each book in the Animal Lives series introduces one animal, its lifecycle, physical characteristics, and habitat. The loosely narrative framework sometimes focuses on a single animal, not in a personalized way, but as an example typical of its kind. Frog follows a common frog as he eats, escapes from a hedgehog, finds a pond, attracts and mates with a female, and fertilizes her eggs. The focus shifts to the eggs, which grow into tadpoles, then froglets, and finally complete the cycle by growing to adulthood. Rabbit begins with a buck who flees with his bunnies when a buzzard swoops down toward them. When all is clear, they return to the meadow, where he mates with a young doe. She builds a nest, gives birth, and feeds her young, who grow up to take their places in the meadow and complete the cycle. Kitchen's precisely delineated, softly colored paintings add considerably to the charm of these well-designed books. A page of further information, a glossary, and a list of relevant organizations and their Web sites are appended. --Carolyn Phelan
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4-An exploration of the life cycles of two animals, told in story format. The lyrical narratives have somewhat sophisticated language, which makes these titles inaccessible to newly independent readers, and their British origin is evident as both books focus on the European species. While the lives of these creatures are basically the same, American readers may be misled by certain statements. For example, one of the frog's major predators listed is the hedgehog, which is not found in the U.S. The fact that the featured animals are European is only found in the fact pages at the back of the books, and young readers might end up with some erroneous information. Of the two, The Rabbit is slightly more successful because it is more general. Full-page, striking illustrations in muted colors accompany the texts.-Arwen Marshall, formerly at 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
This lyrical narrative offers a glimpse into the life of a group of rabbits, weaving in details of their physical attributes, diet, predators, behavior, breeding habits, life cycle, and development. The detailed illustrations depict surprisingly expressive rabbits in a pastoral setting. Sections at the end provide additional scientific particulars, history, and how to observe rabbits in the wild. Glos., ind. From HORN BOOK Spring 2001, (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.
