Ant Colonies

Gr 2–4—These deceptively slim volumes are packed with information that will be a boon to report writers, attractive to browsers, and fill that high interest/low vocabulary need. The conversational style and lively descriptions of the sophisticated behaviors of these cooperative animal groups should have readers requesting the entire series. The single spread chapters cover the main points in an introductory paragraph, followed by a paragraph in a different colored font that elaborates on them. Sidebars contain interesting facts, such as "Some ants can make living bridges with their bodies" and "Coyotes are great hunters because the can chase prey quickly." A shortcoming would be that occasionally the color photographs are blurry and sometimes not specifically labeled. The "Further Readings" section at the back of each title suggests current books, and the website section refers to a frequently updated site. Glossary words ("tactics," "reserves," "echolocation," etc.) are in a bold font throughout the texts.