Wild Baby Animals
Reading Level Grade 2Interest Level Grades K – 3Copyright 2011
Reviewed
Reading Level Grade 2Interest Level Grades K – 3Copyright 2011
ReviewedCute! Cute! Cute! There are few things as cute to young children as other baby mammals—especially the ones featured in this series! From beautiful, cuddly cats to some of kids’ favorite rodents, this series about mammal babies is sure to fly off library shelves. Developed by literacy experts, each 24-page book features controlled text with age-appropriate vocabulary, grammar, and sentence structure for emergent readers. Colorful photos closely aligned to the text and popular, grade-appropriate topics guarantee that kids will gain confidence in reading while learning all about some of the cutest wild baby mammals around.
[A] good deal of care has gone into the presentation of the Wild Baby Animals series. Organized by twopage chapters, the books use simple, explanatory text to detail the size, geographical location, description, birth, home, and foraging habits of each animal. Bright photos of the (mostly) adorable beasts cascade across the glossy pages - ”boldface vocabulary words are often connected with arrows to corresponding images - ”and the whole package is contained within a small, easytohold format. Polar Bear Cubs gets plenty of mileage out of shots of the brighteyed cubs being silly, though there is one moresobering image of an adult polar bear dragging a dead seal. Raccoon Cubs divides its time between forest and urban landscapes, showing how the inquisitive scavengers survive on fish in the wild and spilled garbage in the city. Skunk Kits introduces the striped or spotted catsized mammal as well as its unique defense mechanism (Liquid comes out of here). The map in Squirrel Kits illustrates the worldwide reach of squirrels, and their intelligence is proven by their ability to bury food for winter retrieval. A wonderful picture glossary that reiterates vocabulary words highlights each title's back matter.
Booklist
Titles in this smallformat series offer very basic facts about the habitats, diets, and traits of mammal babies - ¦ Clear and engaging photographs include some images of newborns, of nursing juveniles, and of the title animals' prey. Each volume includes a small habitat map and a size comparison graphic (human child and adult to adult creature).
The Horn Book Guide
