Detection Rats

April 1, 2012

K-Gr 1-Though formatted for emergent readers-with very simple sentences in large type placed opposite full-page color photos of animals at work-this set offers information that will likely be new even to adults. Familiar truffle-hunting pigs and contraband-sniffing police dogs are featured, but Albright also introduces critters that help humans with tasks from detecting bombs and land mines to sniffing out pests. Even though the author's claim in Bee that bees have been used to detect bedbugs is inaccurate (wasps, however, have been, as shown in the accompanying picture) and a photo in Beagles depicts what looks more like a fox hunt than the rabbit hunt it's meant to represent, these titles will intrigue audiences beyond their intended age group.

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