Movement

School Library Journal

Gr 2–5—These overviews offer examples of different aspects of animal life. For example, to attract a mate, a greater sage-grouse male will puff out his chest while a male cuttlefish will flash different colors and patterns. Each book begins with a spread containing a diagram or drawing to introduce the topic. The volumes profile different animals with short paragraphs, large photos, and "Fact Files" text boxes that contain information about the creature's size, habitat, distribution, etc. Most examples feature specific species (sifaka, blind cave fish, etc.), but some are oddly generic entries such as "Snail" and "Bat" in Movement. That volume begins with the oversimplified statement that "All animals move to search for food, escape from predators, find homes, and find mates." Close-up photos will attract browsers, who might be inspired to do further research.

Children's Literature - Nancy Garhan Attebury

With the crowd yelling "Ready, set, go!" monster trucks rev up and roll out to tackle a course that appears insurmountable. These trucks are like pick-ups but they sport huge tires. In this book from the "Motorsports" series, readers can glean an assortment of facts about the monsters. A pace setting paragraph on the first spread readies readers for more thrills as they dive into a well-researched text that is accompanied by brilliant photos of 22 trucks. The photos work closely with the text to add to the ease of comprehension. The format consists of small sections of text, fact-packed sidebars, and detailed captions. Topics include the history of monster trucks, tracks of the trucks, driving the trucks, truck engines and gears, and more. Methanol, supercharged, slap wheelies, and donutz are some of the glossary words that are highlighted in bold and then defined in the glossary. The text is written at a fourth grade level but the subject matter is sure to grab attention of youngsters of any age. An end page of star drivers also contains websites that present more information about monster trucks. To round out the book, an index that helps students find information quickly is included. This book and others in the series would work well as supplements to science and math lessons. Reviewer: Nancy Garhan Attebury