Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4-8-The pages of these striking volumes offer bits and pieces of information rather than running textual paragraphs. The language is straightforward and easy to understand, but the use of clever heads and subheads throughout may be lost on or misconstrued by many readers. For instance, beside a micrograph depicting mitosis, the heading is "Divide and conquer"; near a brief explanation of blocked arteries is the subhead, "Broken hearted." In Predators, a brief discussion of the pitcher plant is titled, "False promise pitfall," and "River of no return" is the heading for a caption of one of the Amazon River's tributaries. Not intended to be textbooks, these vividly illustrated titles are supplemental materials through which students can be introduced to terms and concepts. On the pages that depict, for instance, the bionic body, a cornea transplant is described in this way: "This is when a damaged cornea is replaced with one from another human." The format and style of the books are outstanding. For reproduction, both male and female organs are presented as entities unto themselves. "Life begins" depicts the progressive formation of a human embryo in a clear and sensitive way. Given the craftsmanship in design and illustration, plus the controlled presentation of information, these titles are worthwhile choices for most collections.-Sheila Fiscus, Our Lady of Peace School, Erie, PA (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
The first half of this book introduces different types of predators and various ways these animals capture their prey. The second half focuses on specific species, including cats, wolves, and alligators, and their habitats. Each double-page section includes a block of text and a large realistic illustration with explanatory captions and sidebars. The scattered layout makes the book best for browsing. Glos., ind. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
One of a new nonfiction series that really goes for the visual gusto, this sports a shiny, embossed close-up cover image of a tiger leaping to the attack, a spider and a python chowing down on the first two page turns, and then an extensive gallery of like creatures on the hunt. All are rendered with digitally generated photo-realism in simplified action settings. The succession of single-topic spreads first takes readers through food chains and the tools and techniques of animal and plant predators. A second section, dubbed "In Focus," offers closer looks at types of predators, from cats to birds of prey, and then peers into rain forests ("River of No Return"), deserts (meet the sidewinder: "Heat Seeking Missile") and other habitats. The information, presented on each spread in a block of narrative and a flurry of captions, takes a small step above Eyewitness Book level, and for all the pouncing and crunching in the art there are but a few flecks of gore to be seen. The wonderfully lurid graphics guarantee crowds of browsers for this and other volumes in the series, such as Linda Calabresi's Human Body ($16.99, 978-1-4169-3861-3)--but there's enough fact to nourish young scientists too. (summary chart, glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 10-13) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
