A Day on the Mountain

February 1, 2011

Gr 1-3-A hike up a mountain somewhere in North America reveals the changing wildlife and terrain. At the different elevations, animals and plants described or shown include black bears, Great Gray Owls, voles, garter snakes, Clark's nutcrackers, bighorn sheep, mountain lions, hummingbirds, wildflowers and butterflies, yellow-bellied marmots, eagles, salamanders, mountain goats, and lichen. Snow fleas are said to be "decomposers that eat detritus on the snow," but those terms are never defined or explained. Many of the animals can be found at lower elevations, which might make the habitat distinction fuzzy in readers' minds. The "hike" advances 1000 feet every second spread but the actual elevation is never specified, a disappointing oversight. The text consists of two rhyming stanzas per spread. The book opens and closes with an eagle's-eye view of the entire mountain. Illustrations are realistic and include an occasional inset but don't offer more than the obvious detail. The closing-activities section includes more advanced information on mountain ecosystems and an elevation graph but even this fails to identify the specific elevations.-Carol S. Surges, McKinley Elementary School, Wauwatosa, WI

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