In this medium-sized picture-format book, 44 creatures from all parts of the earth are portrayed with beautifully rendered acrylic paintings accompanied by a brief paragraph of text about their "amazing" habits. It is an eclectic collection, ranging from the familiar ngaroos, skunks, fireflies, and beavers the unfamiliar atara (New Zealand), desert crocodile (Africa), and bar-tailed godwits (the Arctic coast). These animals are grouped together in the following categories: size and strength, reproduction, communication, home building, migration and navigation, diet, hunting, and defense. The straightforward text emphasizes the behavior that makes each species or family noteworthy in the activity in which they are grouped. The realistically drawn portraits use muted colors to give each creature an air of dignity rather than focusing on the sensationalism of their behavior. Although there is a brief glossary, there is no other supportive material, so this has limited use for research. However, it's a good fit for those young nonfiction readers who enjoy absorbing bizarre facts.

Gr 4-6 An attractive compendium of critter facts, accompanied by some small, stellar acrylic paintings. Covering such topics as "Size and Strength" and "Diet," snippets of text inform readers that an octopus "has a toothed tongue to drill holes in stuff" and "fig wasps have a symbiotic relationship with gif trees." What readers are not told is that there are many kinds of birds of paradise besides the one pictured, each with its own courting behaviors, and that not all female fireflies are femme fatales luring unsuspecting males to entree status on the menu. This book has great eye appeal for young browsers, and the olio of factoids may prompt further investigations by curious kids. Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY