Big Babies, Little Babies

July 1, 2010
K-Gr 3—-his offering is big on pictures but small on content. It maintains all of the visual appeal of DK's popular "Eyewitness" and "Watch Me Grow" series, but the information is simply worked around pages of color photographs. A different animal is introduced on each of the 29 spreads. How parents care for offspring, whether as a team or separately; what the baby eats; and how long it requires adult care are mentioned. Sidebars and speech bubbles provide further information, some of which is not relevant to the topic. While the title suggests that this might be a concept book, the animals are introduced randomly, with no attempt to arrange them by geography, climate, or, indeed, size. This is a book that youngsters might enjoy browsing through, but it provides little more than a scattershot look at a popular topic.—"Kara Schaff Dean, Walpole Public Library, MA"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2010
Grades 2-4 Colorfully illustrated with many photos, this introduction to 29 kinds of animal babies emphasizes mammals but includes some birds, reptiles, and fish as well. With jocular headings such as bright baby (silver leaf monkeys), just hangin (opossums), and neck and neck (giraffes), each double-page spread presents one type of animal. The text might appear as a short paragraph, a caption, or a first-person thought balloon connected to an individual animal in one of the photos. Although the presentation is a bit scattershot, it generally includes some factoids about the species in general along with information about its young. A glossary is appended. Children can dip into this book at any point and learn from it, but the main draw will be the many intriguing and endearing photos. With a topic like baby animals, theres a ready audience.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)