Salamander Dance

K-Gr 3—With vivid language and illustrations that reward careful looking, this book introduces readers to the life cycle of the spotted salamander, a colorful amphibian that lives in underground forest burrows and vernal pools that fill up in the late winter or early spring. The cycle begins when the spotted salamanders leave their underground homes and migrate to pools, where they "dance in the dark," lay their eggs, and, in time, return once again to their woodland hideaways. The poetic text makes this an excellent choice for reading aloud and for careful study. Words slide off the tongue ("Through slippery leaves, down muddy slopes, salamanders slide silently into the rising waters of their vernal pool."), and the repeated "Clack! Clack! Clack!" of the wood frogs will appeal to readers' sense of sound. Words such as vernal pool and metamorphosis are clearly explained. The illustrations support and extend the writing. A spread of the forest on a late winter evening, depicted with dramatic deep blues and greens, reveals, on close inspection, other animals—an owl and a muskrat—lurking nearby. The visuals also include a variety of perspectives, offering readers a view from the bottom of the vernal pool as well as a look down into the pool from the surrounding land. Some images zoom in to provide close-ups of salamander eggs and developing larvae or underground homes; others zoom out to present a view of the surrounding forest and other forest animals.