Jaguars

April 15, 2013
Grades 1-3 The titles in the Amazing Animals series have graphically beautiful covers, with striking headshots of the featured animal set on crisp white backgrounds. The interiors are no slouches in the design department either. The font is ideally sized for emergent readers and the photos are so up-close it's like you're right there. Each title introduces one animal characteristic per spread, but because there's no real organizational structure, they may appeal most to the casually browsing kid. Jaguars may be in the cat family, but they're no pussycats; in fact, the word jaguar means beast that kills with one leap (it helps that they have superb night vision). While each of these books includes an interesting story from folklore (e.g., Why do bison have humps? ) and glossary terms are defined throughout, there's no mention of the fact that many of the animals are endangered species. Still, this is a visually arresting package featuring animals in all their fierce, beautiful, and awe-inspiring glory.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)