Say It Again

Children's Literature - Children's Literature

With clever rhymes and lifelike drawings, this book introduces readers to a dozen animals with double-sound names. A native of Madagascar, the round-eyed Aye Aye hides in a tree. The Dik Dik, resembling a deer, makes no sound. The Cara Cara flies, ready to swoop and make dinner of an unsuspecting mouse. The Mola Mola is an unusual-shaped fish, with a long front and short behind. The colorful Coro Coro appears at night, filling the sky with electrical hues. The great Wow Wow hollers loudly when it wakes. A map at the back of the book locates each animal's home. Useful facts about the animals in this book and general information about how animals get their names help place these creatures in their places in the animal kingdom. Animal lovers and anyone with a penchant for the unusual will enjoy this book. 2000, Charlesbridge, Ages 5 to 8, $16.95 and $6.95. Reviewer: Julie Steinberg

School Library Journal

Gr 1-3-The 12 creatures featured in this slim volume-some common, others exotic-are similar only in the repetitive nature of their common or scientific names. All of them have a double sound ("Aye-Aye," "Caracara," "Killy-Killy," "Wonga-Wonga"). Each animal is featured on a striking two-page spread that shows it in a realistic acrylic painting in its habitat and in a cameo close-up, along with its name in large letters, vertically arranged, and a descriptive four-line verse made up of two sets of rhyming couplets. For example, "Awake and active since first light,/This monkey has an appetite./A katydid is the ideal/Chico Chico lunchtime meal." A two-page world map outlines the region where each animal lives, and a short descriptive paragraph explains how it got its name. This briefest of introductions to a dozen species offers few facts for reports. It is nothing more than an attractive collection of miscellanea and probably not a first purchase for most collections.-Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|