Great-horned Owls

April 1, 2015

Gr 1-4-This varied collection of animals combines appealing design with clear information. Four or five succinct chapters cover range, habitat, and appearance (size, diet, enemies, and young). Many topics (identification, diet, predators, young) are reinforced through charts. A map shows the animal's range, alongside a chart showing its conservation status. A graph compares the average animal's size to that of an average human. The text contrasts nicely with the faintly patterned background, which is overlaid with brightly bordered photographs and colorful charts and graphs. Photos are dynamic, including a hugely exaggerated wide-angle shot in Black Bears. Other than some contradictory information between Black Bears and White-Tailed Deer (White-Tailed Deer leads readers to believe that bears are a major predator of deer, while Black Bears doesn't list deer as a food source) and the mistakenly identified eastern Greenland in Gray Wolves, these books are well edited. VERDICT Attractive additions.

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2015
Grades K-3 Imagine watching a great horned owl sitting quietly, peering into the woods or the yard with its large, piercing yellow eyes, just watching for its next meal. That is the experience children will have here. From the cover to the end of the text, the eyes dominate and seem to follow the reader. Combining a host of realistic photographs and an accessible text, this presents facts in such a way that will seem natural to readers. Highlighted words are defined in the glossary, and further reading sources are also listed. Part of the new Blastoff! North American Animals series, this is designed to give young children facts for those first research projects in an engaging way that coordinates with the Common Core standards for reading informational texts.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)