Is there anything more endearing than a baby animal? In this offering for her youngest audience yet, wildlife photographer Eszterhas captures a wide variety of baby animals at play, learning the skills they will one day need to survive. In glossy, full-bleed, utterly adorable close-up photos, a bison calf and her mom playfully butt heads ("One day this is how she will protect herself in the wild"), two cheetah brothers wrestle ("They are learning how to hunt and fight other animals"), and a group of young jackals play with elephant dung ("They are learning to work together as a team"). Young browsers will have a blast watching baby animals jump, nap, and run l things that little humans will be familiar with! this introduction to productive play. In a final spread, Eszterhas gives readers a behind-the-scenes glance into her career, highlighting some particularly enjoyable moments in the field. Readers already won over by the irresistible photos might also find a budding interest in wildlife photography.

A skilled wildlife photographer captures baby animals at play and at rest in the wild. Eszterhas, who has documented animal behavior with her camera on seven continents, offers young readers and listeners an album of irresistible images of baby animals playing, exercising their bodies, practicing skills they will need to survive in the wild, and even resting on gorilla Dad's "soft and bouncy" belly or capybara Mom's back. Cheetahs wrestle, and jackal cubs fight over a ball of elephant poop. A lion cub uses a stick as a toy, a bison practices her head butts. Lemurs and raccoon kits climb trees, dolphins leap, bears dance, a giraffe runs. A baby orangutan dangles from his mother's fur, and a small chimpanzee rolls on the ground of his rain-forest home. Beautifully reproduced photographs fill each spread, sometimes with another image superimposed. Each is a close-up, crisply focused on the subject with the animal's wild habitat a soft blur behind. Two-sentence captions introduce the young animals and explain their actions. Two pages of backmatter introduce the California-based photographer and offer additional images, suggesting how difficult her choices must have been. Even toddlers can easily associate these animal activities with their own running, jumping, swinging, and dancing experiences. For readers and listeners alike, an appealing connection to the natural world. (Informational picture book. 2-7)

PreS-Gr 1Up-close images of baby creatures in their natural habitats are what lend this beautiful photo journal its authentic quality. Eszterhas has captured endearing moments in which the furry (and not so furry) little ones are shown climbing, perching, swinging, racing, and tumbling. The author proposes that these fun activitiesfamiliar to young readers themselvesare not only forms of play in the animal kingdom but also preparation for behaviors that they will need for their future survival. ("She is playing now, but one day this is how she will protect herself in the wild.") The text is spare but effectivebrief statements about each baby's type of movement. Among the creatures represented are lions, lemurs, raccoons, gorillas, giraffes, orangutans, bison, dolphins, and capybaras. Back matter includes additional photos with an author's note that details Eszterhas's travels and her mission as a wildlife photographer and conservationist. VERDICT Best suited for group sharing and also ideal for newly independent readers who delight in nonfiction.Gloria Koster, West School, New Canaan, CT