Nature Search Rain Forest

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

With these ``hands-on guides for nature sleuths,'' maturing Where's Waldo? fans can finally get down and get serious. Conveniently impocketed in each book's cover, a magnifying glass prods reluctant readers to rub noses with the grotesque and the beautiful, the commonplace and the strange. Finely detailed and compressed watercolor illustrations conceal certain animals and plants among the large, more obvious inhabitants of a distinct ecological system. Within the tiers of a rain forest and by the waters of the Sargasso Sea, the Great Barrier Reef and the Galapagos Islands, hidden life will come into focus as youngsters learn to wield the eyeglass up and down over leaves and seaweed, forest debris and coral. Each double-page spread includes textual and illustrated information to guide readers into close-up investigations far more challenging than most ``find-the-hidden-object'' books. Younger or impatient readers may be encouraged by the answer guides and glossaries. Both books can effectively teach observation skills such as noticing, focusing and examining to groups or individual readers. However, Underwater appears more cohesive and less daunting than Rain Forest. Ages 7-12. (Oct.)