Dolphins!

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4-- Illustrated on every page with a full-color photograph, this introduction to dolphins describes their life cycle (without any mention of mating or gestation.) The photographs either illustrate the descriptions in the text or show dolphins in action. Occasional oversimplifications raise questions, such as why and how the dolphins' coloring helps protect them from their enemies. However, excellent, brief explanations and definitions of such terms as echolocation and dolphin intelligence counteract the sometimes cursory treatment. Delightful stories highlight the chapter, ``Are Dolphins Smart,'' and will arouse laughter at the cleverness of these remarkable mammals. The glossary has a helpful pronunciation guide, but a strange range--from cetacean to rare-- but not melon, the area of the skull essential to echolocation. No new facts here, but the photographs sparkle, and the stories of human-dolphin interaction shine. --Frances E. Millhouser, Reston Regional Library, VA