My book of animals A walk through the national parks

Gr 2-5-This unique look at animals groups them by species or habitat and links them to a national park. The title, which is presented in a large, color-coded format, covers deserts, prairies, rivers and lakes, mountains, forests, sea animals, and birds. One creature is featured per page, and each includes a color photo, an "Identity Card" with size and location information, four short descriptive paragraphs, and "Play and Learn!" review questions. (Many of the questions include small color illustrations that will give astute observers the answers.) Each informational paragraph is introduced with a question (e.g., "What is it?" and "How does it hunt?"). The puzzling thing about this book is its failure to initially make clear that it includes both U.S. and Canadian parks, and the maps sometimes give only a partial view of the creatures' full range. The final entire section is devoted to follow-up activities, which are mainly questions requiring rote memory responses. Maps showing the national parks and answers to the questions close the book. Browsers and beginning researchers alike will enjoy the format in spite of some shortcomings.-Carol S. Surges, formerly at Longfellow Middle School, Wauwatosa, WI (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.