Tadpoles and frogs

K-Gr 2-Kids will enjoy the photography in these titles. Tadpoles, a Level 1 volume, follows frogs from egg to tadpole to adult. The shots of hundreds of frog eggs place readers right in the water with the jellylike orbs. The text is clean, simple, and narrowly focused, making it very manageable. The final spread repeats a handful of facts. Fur, a Level 2 reader, highlights an assortment of critters with bright, appealing photos and basic but interesting information nicely organized into two-page sections. The material in Creepy-Crawlies, a Level 3 reader, is plentiful but scattershot. The cutesy term "creepy-crawlies" is used liberally throughout the book, and it's even given a definition: "What makes them creepy-crawlies? They are all very small animals!" Clearly, that explanation is as problematic as the term. All three volumes conclude with a glossary; Creepy-Crawlies also includes an index. Fur is a solid purchase and Tadpoles is not too far behind when the repetitive spread is overlooked; Creepy-Crawlies is an additional purchase.-Alyson Low, Fayetteville Public Library, AR (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Bright, crisp color photographs star in this early reader about frogs and their life cycle. The book jumps abruptly and briefly to toads ("Toads are a lot like frogs. Toads have bumpy skin"), which may confuse some young readers. Otherwise, the information is straightforward, and the simple, spare text is engagingly written. Glos. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.