Series Made Simple

K-Gr 1—Loosely interpreting "bugs" to include spiders, this series gives new readers a sense of the huge variety of shapes and colors in which insects (and arachnids) come...

Gr 5—7—Markle follows her "Insect World" series (Lerner, 2008) with a similarly designed overview of spiders, ticks, and scorpions...

Gr 4—8—Keeping the tone light and upbeat, Jones explains in brief the origins, traits, and pop-culture presence of select monsters...

Gr 2—4—These dual-purpose introductions to nature and to graphic texts include a how-to-read-panels diagram on their back covers...

K-Gr 1—These slim titles, with two exceptions, are so simplistic that there is hardly any content...

Gr 2—3—Though not particularly helpful for quick identification—"Most butterflies fly during the day," while "Most moths fly at night," is a characteristic distinction—these dual profiles of common creatures should give budding naturalists an increased understanding of how scientists use appearance and behavior to classify sometimes-similar living things, along with introducing important terms like "cephalothorax" and "chrysalis...

K-Gr 1—In these easy readers, each spread includes one or two sentences and a clear, attractive photograph that works well with the text...

Gr 2—3—More suited to browsing than to assignment use, these quick surveys prize visual appeal over factual content...

Gr 3—5—Ancient cultures are always more approachable for young readers when viewed from the eyes of children...