Publisher's Weekly Review
The four introductory titles in the Eyewitness Junior series are distinguished by the same sort of spectacular photographs and absolute clarity of text that have served the hugely successful Eyewitness books so well. Tailored for a younger audience, the new series presents information in brief, discrete blurbs--each with an accompanying spot illustration--that ring the spread's dominant image; there are no long, potentially intimidating blocks of text. The tone is lively and friendly, and each page is sprinkled with snappy subheads that catch the eye and imagination. The skillful use of comparisons to scale (each day a pelican eats the equivalent of 20 school lunches) and the inclusion (where appropriate) of myths and other lore in addition to ``hard science'' further heighten the accessibility--and rewards--of these extraordinary voyages into the natural world. Ages 6-10. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Large, clear photographs of each spider are surrounded by small photographs and drawings that illustrate attributes of the animals. An adult might quibble with the use of loaded words for some of the headings, such as 'Funnel of Death,' but children will be spellbound. From HORN BOOK 1990, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
Gr. 1-4. These books, aimed at a slightly younger audience than the Eyewitness series, are distinguished by their attractive graphic layout. Each general opening chapter ("What is a bird?" etc.) is followed by sections on individual species. Every double-page spread features a large color photo of an animal, which stands in stark contrast to the white background of the page. Smaller photos and drawings, captioned with short paragraphs of text, surround the central illustrations. The text includes a variety of trivia, folklore, and world-record-type information. An introductory paragraph appears at the top of each left-hand page. Overall, the layout will appeal to browsers, although important details of several photographs (especially in Spiders) become lost in the binding. Particularly strong are the closing chapters of each book: "How Birds Fly," "Bringing Up Baby" (mammals), "How Snakes Move," and "How to Spin a Web." Although most of this information can be found elsewhere, these still make good choices for luring young readers to the topics. Once they are hooked, lead them to other titles, such as the Jane Goodall Animal World series [BKL D 15 89] or any of the Lerner natural science books. --Kay Weisman
