Can You Tell an Ostrich from an Emu?

January 1, 2012

Gr 2-4-Crickets and grasshoppers can be told apart by the lengths of their antennae; in the first book, readers also learn that crickets can make their songs with their right or left wings. Learning the differences between reptiles and amphibians is easy in Gecko. Whether their skins are rough and dry (reptiles) or smooth and moist (amphibians), both geckos and salamanders can lose their tails to hungry predators and grow new ones. The world's two largest birds, the nine-foot-tall ostrich and the six-foot emu, live on different continents and lead very different lives. The third book compares and contrasts them on each spread. All three titles are filled with sharp, colorful photographs with engaging close-ups of special characteristics, e.g., the grasshopper's abdomen-located "ear" vs. the cricket's on its front legs. Each book has a test called "Who Am I?" to see if readers can identify the animals described in the text. "Fun Facts" add more information.-Frances E. Millhouser, formerly at Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA

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