500s: A Furry Few: Series Nonfiction on Mammals

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Also in this article: Spineless Wonders: Invertebrates The Bottom Line

Warm-blooded, furry, and generally cute, mammals draw plenty of interest for school assignments, recreational reading, and sometimes just for browsing. These three series attempt to provide material that is useful, interesting, and comprehensible, without overwhelming the abilities of fairly new readers. Their carefully selected illustrations will aid understanding and hook browsers through strong visual appeal. The focus of each set has high potential for popularity: one looks at zoo animals, while the other two feature animal babies. These will likely circulate well in most collections, but each set has strengths and weaknesses.

BREDESON, Carmen. Baby Animals of the Desert ISBN 978-0-7660-3007-7. LC 2007029287.
BREDESON, Carmen. Baby Animals of the Grasslands ISBN 978-0-7660-3006-0. LC 2007029284.
BREDESON, Carmen. Baby Animals of the Tropical Rain Forest ISBN 978-0-7660-3004-6. LC 2007029285.
BREDESON, Carmen. Baby Animals of the Woodland Forest ISBN 978-0-7660-3005-3. LC 2007039470. ea vol: 24p. (Nature’s Baby Animals Series). map. photos. further reading. index. Web sites. CIP. Enslow Elementary 2008. PLB $21.26.

Gr 1-3–Well chosen, exceedingly endearing photos highlight this series. A world map and a brief description introduce the featured habitat, but the focus is on the eight animal infants. A few simple sentences provide nominal information, mostly related to birth and early life. Facts are minimal, and the texts are accessible to new readers. A vivid full-page photograph captures each creature in a highly appealing pose, while a smaller photo opposite shows the baby accompanied by a parent. Each book concludes with one endangered animal, which makes for a jarring transition from the fun and warmth that precedes it. The endangered status of other featured animals, such as jaguars, is not mentioned.

DOUDNA, Kelly. It’s a Baby African Elephant! ISBN 978-1-60453-149-7. LC 2008005466.
DOUDNA, Kelly. It’s a Baby Baboon ISBN 978-1-60453-150-3. LC 2008005467.
DOUDNA, Kelly. It’s a Baby Cheetah ISBN 978-1-60453-151-0. LC 2008005468.
DOUDNA, Kelly. It’s a Baby Chimpanzee ISBN 978-1-60453-152-7. LC 2008005469.
DOUDNA, Kelly. It’s a Baby Gazelle ISBN 978-1-60453-153-4. LC 2008005470.
DOUDNA, Kelly. It’s a Baby Giraffe ISBN 978-1-60453-154-1. LC 2008005471.
DOUDNA, Kelly. It’s a Baby Hippopotamus ISBN 978-1-60453-155-8. LC 2008007014.
DOUDNA, Kelly. It’s a Baby Lion ISBN 978-1-60453-156-5. LC 2008007015.
DOUDNA, Kelly. It’s a Baby Meerkat ISBN 978-1-60453-157-2. LC 2008007016.
DOUDNA, Kelly. It’s a Baby Rhinoceros ISBN 978-1-60453-158-9. LC 2008014115.
DOUDNA, Kelly. It’s a Baby Wildebeest ISBN 978-1-60453-159-6. LC 2008015361.
DOUDNA, Kelly. It’s a Baby Zebra ISBN 978-1-60453-160-2. LC 2008015360. ea vol: 24p. (Baby African Animals Series). illus. photos. glossary. CIP. ABDO/SandCastle 2008. PLB $13.95.

Gr 1-3–In 10 pages of text, each with one or two sentences, these slim volumes offer basic introductions. Large, double-spaced type and simple structure will help newer readers, though words like “parasites” and “herbivore,” defined only in the glossary, may pose challenges. The sequence of facts jumps from topic to topic sometimes abruptly, but a nice mixture of broad and specific details makes the information easy to digest. The full-page color photos opposite each text page are serviceable, but rarely exciting; most present solo views of predators, for example, with no sign of the animal it hunts. Though the series is not essential, individual titles may fill subject holes.

PELUSEY, Michael & Jane Pelusey. Apes and Monkeys ISBN 978-0-7614-3144-2. LC 2008001651.
PELUSEY, Michael & Jane Pelusey. Bears ISBN 978-0-7614-3147-3. LC 2008001647.
PELUSEY, Michael & Jane Pelusey. Elephants ISBN 978-0-7614-3148-0. LC 2008001665.
PELUSEY, Michael & Jane Pelusey. Giraffes and Zebras ISBN 978-0-7614-3149-7. LC 2008001655.
PELUSEY, Michael & Jane Pelusey. Lions and Tigers ISBN 978-0-7614-3151-0. LC 2008001652.
PELUSEY, Michael & Jane Pelusey. Rhinoceroses and Hippopotamuses ISBN 978-0-7614-3150-3. LC 2008001660. ea vol: 32p. (Zoo Animals Series). illus. maps. photos. glossary. index. CIP. Marshall Cavendish 2008. PLB $19.95.

Gr 2-4–Key animal facts, including physical features, natural environment, and survival status, combine with specific details of zoo life, such as feeding and healthcare. Covering a lot of ground, often with more than one animal group, results in a sometimes scattered flow, but there’s plenty of intriguing information. Features include a brief interview with a keeper, a “day in the life of the zookeeper,” and a look at a specific zoo that houses the animals in question. Average-quality captioned photographs depict the creatures in various settings, highlighting the zoo habitats and major activities.

Spineless Wonders: Invertebrates

CAMISA, Kathryn. Hairy Tarantulas ISBN 978-1-59716-704-8. LC 2008012106.
GOLDISH, Meish. Jumping Spiders ISBN 978-1-59716-705-5. LC 2008014282.
GOLDISH, Meish. Spooky Wolf Spiders ISBN 978-1-59716-706-2. LC 2008006170.
GOLDISH, Meish. Tricky Trapdoor Spiders ISBN 978-1-59716-707-9. LC 2008007203.
LUNIS, Natalie. Deadly Black Widows ISBN 978-1-59716-667-6. LC 2008001997.
WHITE, Nancy. Crafty Garden Spiders ISBN 978-1-59716-703-1. LC 2008016622. ea vol: 24p. (No Backbone! The World of Invertebrates Series). photos. further reading. glossary. index. Web sites. CIP. Bearport 2008. PLB $21.28.

Gr 1-3–Each book is devoted to a particular spider type, covering key topics such as food, habitats, defense, and life cycles. Spreads include four or five simple sentences, each neatly spaced by a carriage return, facing a vivid, close-up view of the spider in action. Word balloon captions highlight details when needed and smaller photographs on the text pages provide further visual reference. The excellent photos depict draglines, fangs, and even the shooting hairs of a tarantula in satisfying detail. Better yet, the well-chosen scenes relate directly to the words to demonstrate basic concepts in meaningful ways that readers will remember.–Reviewed by Steven Engelfried, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR

The Bottom Line

High-interest subject matter and generally accessible reading levels make all three series worth considering, either as full sets to enrich an easy nonfiction collection or by title based on needs. Of the three, “Zoo Animals” works best as a unified series, since it highlights shared concerns of zoos while also identifying details about the care of specific animal groups. The other series focus on fun facts rather than commonalities among animals or environments. “Baby African Animals” provides a bit more information, with one book per animal, but “Nature’s Baby Animals” stands out for its strong visual presentation and brief, but more cohesive text.

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