Gorillas

Children's Literature

In the growing field of nonfiction for beginning readers, this book, one of the series "In the Wild," is an excellent addition. With two large, color photographic-illustrations per double-page spread and only one or two informative sentences of text per page, this attractive book invites the interest of young readers. Divided into very brief chapters, the topics are displayed in a table of contents that makes it easy to find information. The book covers habitat, baby gorillas, what gorillas eat, where they rest and sleep, family life, and threats to the future of gorillas in the wild. The close-up pictures are appropriate to the text and will enhance young readers' understanding of gorillas. The book includes an index, a glossary, a list of up-to-date Internet resources, organizations to contact, and a bibliography. 2002, Raintree/Steck Vaughn Publishers,
— Leslie Rounds

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2-Two titles aimed at giving beginning readers basic answers to their questions about these animals. Written in very simple language, they provide general information about where the creature lives, how it raises its young, why it is becoming (or has become) endangered, and how humans are working to help it. Each page has a full-color photo and a sentence or two of text. A list of organizations relevant to each animal is appended. What gives these books extra appeal is the clear, eye-catching photos that do much to enhance the presentations. They don't have sufficient detail for reports, but there is enough here to satisfy the curiosity of young children.-Arwen Marshall, Minneapolis Public Library Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.