Incredible Insects

Gr 4–6—A wide range of animal facts are packed into each title of this series. Opening pages discuss the qualities of the broad group covered. Subsequent topical spreads offer interesting facts about several plants or animals within the text, plus captioned photos that often introduce additional creatures. A sidebar inset introduces related information on each spread. Coverage includes key areas such as physical features, behaviors, and survival, with appropriate variation depending on the group, such as mammal parenting. The facts are mostly well chosen and presented with just enough context, although the writing is occasionally a bit disjointed. For instance, in Mystifying Mammals, the author states that "[dolphin] front legs have developed into flippers and their back legs have disappeared altogether," which is a bit confusing without some evolutionary context. Inviting layouts are varied and usually feature three high-quality images. Back matter contains project ideas, questions based on the text, and a list of a dozen more bits of data.