Animals and Their Eggs

School Library Journal

Gr 1-3-These three series entries about various aspects of animal life all have the same format. Brief text is interspersed among numerous full-color, captioned illustrations. The language is a bit too sophisticated for new readers, but the focus here is really on the pictures. Each page features realistic drawings of many different animals. The pictures show little regard for the creatures' environments (animals living in different places are often shown together) and relative size, but they are eye-catching and have the look of old-fashioned prints. Each title features a foldout spread. Of the three, Eggs is the most problematic. A drawing of different-sized eggs superimposed upon one another look more like one egg divided into parts. This book also states that "Besides the platypus, the hedgehog is the only other mammal that lays eggs." Hedgehogs are live-bearing mammals, and the other egg-layer is the echidna. Although more accurate, the information provided in the other two offerings is rather random and is not in-depth enough for reports. However, Males and Females and Trails and Tracks will appeal to browsers, who will be drawn to the pictures.-Arwen Marshall, formerly at New York Public Library Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.