Can We Be Friends?: Nature's Partners

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3Each spread of this colorfully illustrated book depicts a set of animal partners that somehow rely upon one another, from the rhino with its familiar red-billed oxpecker to some pairs that might surprise young readers. Ants treat aphids like their own milk cows, a shearwater bird shares housekeeping with a tuatara, an Egyptian plover serves as a crocodile's ``toothbrush,'' and certain fish are said to work as ``doctors'' for other fish. Generally, four or five lines of text describe each symbiotic relationship as an appealing friendship. The format and style are identical to that of the author's Will We Miss Them? (Charlesbridge, 1991). The placement of type around the subjects is sometimes awkward and often difficult to read. The information is sprinkled with cutesy interjections and exclamation points, and only one of the three aspects of true symbiosis is offered: to say that animals ``help each other the way friends do'' is a gross oversimplification of a scientific term that happens to encompass parasitism as well. The book ends on a simplistic, didactic note by posing the question, ``Now that you have seen the ways that animals have learned to be friends, don't you think that we [humans] can, too?'' Side by Side (Putnam, 1988, o.p.) is a better title for this audience, and includes excellent photos and a balanced treatment of the topic.Valerie Lennox, Jacksonville Public Library, FL