Focusing on survival tactics in extreme environments, these titles blend facts about animals and inhospitable locations. Information organization varies between titles--Deserts describes behaviors, while Cold thoroughly investigates specific animals. Each title includes a simple experiment. Unfortunately, dry text, overly complex vocabulary, inconsistent topic coverage, and sometimes misplaced photographs don't fulfill the thrilling promise of the titles. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind.

RODRaGUEZ, Ana Mar&7;a . Leatherback Turtles, Giant Squids, and Other Mysterious Animals of the Deepest Seas . charts. ISBN 978-0-7660-3696-3 ; ISBN 978-1-4644-0019-3 . LC 2010037576. RODRaGUEZ, Ana Mar&7;a . Polar Bears, Penguins, and Other Mysterious Animals of the Extreme Cold . ISBN 978-0-7660-3695-6 ; ISBN 978-1-4644-0017-9 . LC 2010015678. RODRaGUEZ, Ana Mar&7;a . Vampire Bats, Giant Insects, and Other Mysterious Animals of the Darkest Caves . charts. ISBN 978-0-7660-3698-7 ; ISBN 978-1-4644-0018-6 . LC 2010037577. ea vol: 48p. (Extreme Animals in Extreme Environments Series). maps. photos. further reading. glossary. index. notes. Web sites. CIP. Enslow . 2012. PLB $23.93; pap. $7.95. Gr 2-4 These surveys of harsh climes and some of the animals that live in them feature plenty of crowd-pleasing examples, ranging from squids, both giant and colossal, found in the deep sea to vampire bats and giant bat-eating centipedes found in caves. However, readers will be misled or confused by the fact that many more creatures are mentioned than depicted in the color photos and by semi-truthful claims, such as the statement that dromedaries, one-humped camels, originated in North America (only their distant ancestors did) or that brown bears don't really hibernate.