An Egret's Day

Gr 3-5 The daily activities of the Great Egret are described in verse and narrative. Stunning full-color photographs illustrate such topics as preening, plumes, flight, size, and nesting. For example, "On the Hunt/"What Do Egrets Eat?"" informs readers that egrets are known as "ambush predators" that silently wait for their prey to come to them. This characteristic is poetically described as, "He is a world-class waiter, /Waiting (and wading)/In the muddied water/Till a shadow below/Lets him know that a fish/Is near. Then SPLISH-/SPLASH, that knife-sharp beak/breaks the surface/and brings back a surfeit: /Breakfast, lunch, dinner./Almost every strike a winner." The accompanying three photographs show the bird wading, striking and splashing the water, and holding a captured fish in its beak. A two-page close-up of its feather illustrates the chapter on plumes, and the Great Egret's large black feet are contrasted with the smaller golden feet of the Snowy Egret in text and art for the poem "Some Feet." Every spread features an informative paragraph, a vivid poem, and photographs sparkling with glossy details."Frances E. Millhouser, formerly at Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.