A Drove of Bullocks

Gr 3—6—Collective names for groups of animals/birds can be inordinately descriptive. Ask anyone who has had the misfortune to walk through a starling roost and a "filth" is more than apropos. An "intrusion" of cockroaches conjures up a perfect mental image. While not all these collectives are the first to spring to mind, they are all accurate, and all, in their own way, marvelous. Still more marvelous are the imaginative graphics accompanying each noun and its simple paragraph of interesting information. A "colony" of ants marches in silhouette aslant on the page, each bearing an enormous pea-green letter spelling C-O-L-O-N-Y. A "litter" of kittens is dumped unceremoniously into a trash can. A "kit" of pigeons invites readers to assemble one from a hobby kit of wings, toes, and beaks. Over all is luminescent color—a summer-sky blue, a roseate deep pink, and a milk-chocolate brown are among the solid backgrounds for the inventive silhouettes. Younger children will enjoy seeking a giraffe hidden in a city skyline, while older readers will delight in the evocative names and will process snippets of data that may lead to further investigation.—Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY