Dolphins

K-Gr 1—Though possibly useful for extending ideas of what constitutes a "family," in other respects these volumes are of uneven quality at best. Each spread pairs one- to two-sentence descriptions with dark, oversaturated, full-bleed animal photos, and closes with a nearly nonexistent index and a glossary in which words are defined only through tiny pictures. The relationship between narrative and pictures is sometimes tenuous; in Penguins the statement that "there are 17 kinds of penguins" is illustrated with portraits of five (and those not depicted to scale), and in Dolphins a vague claim that "the pod works together when a member is hurt" accompanies a generic view of dolphins swimming. Penguins is further marred by the bald (and arguable) assertion that "the emperor penguin is the only animal that lives on Antarctica year-round." Other volumes, particularly those featuring the ever-photogenic lions and meerkats, may draw readers.