Hawai'i's Animals Do the Most Amazing Things!

Gr 5 Up—At first glance, this treasure appears to be merely an additional but useful resource, but Coste goes well beyond expectations in this informative guide, drawing aspiring scientists into the fascinating realm of Hawaiian animals. Beginning with an introduction to Hawaii's geography, geology, and evolution, including humans' influence, Coste includes 12 endemic and indigenous animals, covering both rare and more well known creatures, such as the great frigate bird, fisher bird, fairy tern, pacific golden plover, Hawaiian green sea turtle, spinner dolphin, humpback whale, and mountain shrimp. Each entry is informative and insightful. For instance, the author provides some hypotheses for the odd behavior of the elapio, a small bird with a habit of rubbing ants over its body. Original decorative illustrations are appropriate and well placed. Middle school students will find useful material to extract for report writing, but the text is complex enough to entice older readers, too. A well-written overview of Hawaiian animals.—Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA