The everglades

Suitable for both classroom use and independent research, this installment in the Our Wild World series provides an up-close look at the fascinating flora and fauna of the world-famous Everglades. Concise chapters examine the three surprisingly diverse habitats of this unique ecosystem saw grass marshes, deep sloughs and gator holes, and tree islands and the climate conditions that shape this wet, steamy world. Lynch, a nature writer, who took many of the photographs here, smoothly pairs engaging prose with numerous color photographs that capture the beauty of the region in both sweeping panorama and close-up detail. Alligators, of course, play a starring role here, but to his credit, Lynch infuses his accounts of other Everglades life-forms with equal allure. Inset boxes extend the main narrative, often highlighting the ways humans threaten the delicate balance of this ecosystem. The concluding list of further resources, may be too brief to fully satisfy the curiosity this polished, informative volume is likely to elicit.--McKulski, Kristen Copyright 2007 Booklist

Gr 5-7-A chatty, informative text is nicely larded with Lynch's personal experiences, which lend a real immediacy to the author's exploration of America's largest wetland and its many ecological niches. "ECO-Fact" boxes pop up like grasshoppers in a meadow, proffering data on a wide variety of topics, from local rainfall amounts to marsh rabbits to native orchids. Handsome color photos appear on every page, and a small map is included for geographic orientation. This attractive portrayal of a unique biome is sadly marred by some mislabeled photos. One identifies a Snowy Egret as a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron; another labeled as a Black-crowned Night-Heron is actually a Yellow-crowned. Yet another makes it sound as though a water strider has only four legs (they have four really long ones, but two shorter ones make up the insect quota of six). Daniel Blaustein's The Everglades and the Gulf Coast (Benchmark, 2000) covers much of the same ground (with more of an emphasis on human effects), but lacks the engaging personal touch of this very readable, eye-catching work.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.