Do Ducks Live in the Desert?

August 1, 2004
K-Gr 2-These books provide information about animals in a question/answer format. Each silly query is followed by a short response. In the first volume, the title question is matched with a brightly colored illustration of a duck wearing sunglasses and standing in the desert. A turn of the page reveals that "No! Ducks live in wetlands" and provides a few more sentences about their behavior in this habitat. A smiling bird is shown skimming across blue water. The pattern is repeated for musk oxen, sloths, water striders, and other creatures, finally ending with a camel and a "Yes!" The same arrangement is used in the second book, in which frogs are featured ("Do frogs have hair?" or "Do frogs have fleece?"). The book ends with "Do frogs have slimy skin?" with an affirmative answer. The heavily outlined, digitally rendered cartoons in bright colors add to the humor of the texts. These titles could be used for a fun group reading but will not fill a need for scientific materials.-Sandra Welzenbach, Villarreal Elementary School, San Antonio, TX

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