Praying Mantis vs. Giant Hornet

April 1, 2016

Gr 4-6-Battling arthropods are introduced with a focus on attributes that would help or hinder in a fight. The animals are rated (on a scale of one to five) on their size, speed, and other attributes. Captioned close-up photographs depict featured body parts fairly effectively. "Fierce Fact" insets provide extra bits of material, usually related to prey and defense. Each book culminates with a present-tense action narrative of the imagined battle. Lively battle descriptions end with a clear winner, who then feasts upon the loser. The fights between scorpion and centipede and tarantula/tarantula hawk are most engaging, since those two pairs are likely combatants in the wild. The others are still intriguing, although referring to the giant hornet as male ("the hornet sends his stinger") is an unfortunate inaccuracy, as only female hornets have stingers. VERDICT Lively action with useful but not always accurate information.

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