Mantises

Children's Literature

This entry in the "Wild Wild World" series contains an animal overview, interesting facts subcategorized by headings of double-page spreads (e.g., "Food," "Cleaning," "Predators," and "Mantises of the World") and numerous vivid close-ups arranged artistically or sequentially to illustrate a concept. Photographs lack captions and surround and face the short paragraphs of text that appear on each page. For instance, a page about molting shows various stages, but neither captions nor some indication of scale helps the reader see more information in the pictures. While a child does not to have to read much text or go far to discover what the photographs portray, by not using captions the series misses the chance to educate children as to how to "read" the photos more deeply or to confirm what we think is being pictured. Photographs are powerful: a sequence shows a female mantis laying eggs, while another shows the streams of tiny mantids pouring from it later. A skimpy four-word glossary and no index make this an additional purchase for most libraries, or one to read as an introduction to the topic, since the good pictures might lead to research in other more completely realized texts. 2003, Blackbirch Press/Gale Group, Ages 7 to 11.
—Susan Hepler, Ph.D.