Animal mash-ups

Gr 3-5-Logical organization, lucid writing, and clean layouts highlight these topical titles. After introducing the general subject, each book examines a couple dozen creatures, providing well-varied and meaningful examples. The statement that "some species change their camouflage over time," for example, is followed by fascinating details about the peppered moth. Animal Mash-Ups looks at hybrids such as ligers and grolar bears, a subject not often covered in children's books. Most photographs are a half-page in size and relate directly to the text. Chapters are generally grouped by the broad environments of air, water, and land. Prose generally flows smoothly, though it is occasionally disrupted by abrupt jumps from one example to the next or by awkward language. The roles of science and human impact are noted throughout, both in full chapters and as part of an individual profile. VERDICT Strong introductory overviews on interesting topics. © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.