Frog

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2-These easy readers explore their featured animals' life cycles. In each two-page section, a heading in boldface asks a question related to a developmental stage, such as, respectively, "What Do Caterpillars Eat?"; "When Do Ducklings Come Out of the Eggs?"; "When Do Tadpoles Grow Legs?" The answers appear in one or two short, simple sentences per page, set beneath a sharp, full-color photograph of one or more representative animals (species are not identified). The photographs, most of which are close-ups, are of excellent quality. Particularly good, in Duck, is the shot of an almost-ready-to-hatch duckling, curled up inside a cross-sectioned egg. A close-up of a mature animal, identifying major body parts, appears near the end of each title. The few scientific terms employed, which appear in bold print in the text, are defined in a picture glossary. The information is easily accessible in clearly written, large-print texts. While other introductions are available on these animals, few are aimed at this audience. Karen Shapiro's Butterflies (Scholastic, 2002), another easy reader, covers the same material as Butterfly, but its rhyming text is not as straightforward and it is illustrated with color drawings. Spilsbury's titles, with their accessible texts and attractive format, will be useful additions to most libraries.-Karey Wehner, formerly at San Francisco Public Library Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.