Animals in Camouflage

April 1, 2000
K-Gr 3-This slim, attractive title is a companion to Animals Black and White (1996) and Animals Brightly Colored (1998, both Charlesbridge). Tildes presents seven creatures, each of which is introduced with a page of clues to its identity opposite an eye-catching gouache illustration of the critter in its habitat. Subsequent pages identify the hidden creature and give a few additional facts and another detailed, close-up illustration of the animal. The simple text is printed in extra-large type. Even children too young to read will enjoy guessing "What am I?" and searching among snow, leaves, blossoms, and seaweed to find a polar bear, leaf insect, great horned owl, crab spider, leafy sea dragon, white-tailed deer, and tree frog. The closing pages describe camouflage tactics and give another paragraph about each species. Simpler in text than Jim Arnosky's handsome I See Animals Hiding (1995) or Jennifer Owings Dewey's vivid Can You Find Me? (1994, both Scholastic), and definitely more basic than Joyce Powzyk's elegantly informative Animal Camouflage (Bradbury, 1990; o.p.), Tildes's title deserves a place in quality collections of natural history.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY

Copyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2000
Ages 4^-8. This brief, effective picture book demonstrates how animals manage to blend in with their surroundings. Each double-page spread features a short riddle, printed in extra large type, about an animal hidden somewhere in the picture on the opposite page. A turn of the page reveals a large illustration of the creature in question, accompanied by the name of the animal and a few facts. Covered (and then uncovered) are such animals as the polar bear, the crab spider, and the great horned owl. Two pages at the end of the book give a few more facts about each animal. The animals, hidden in well-rendered gouache paintings, are not easy to find (sometimes only a part of them is revealed), but children will still have fun looking and discovering how the creatures blend in with their surroundings. It all adds up to an entertaining package. ((Reviewed January 1 & 15, 2000))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2000, American Library Association.)