These whimsical books in the Do You Know? series, recently translated from the French, have a quirky point of view and sense of humor that will appeal to many elementary-school-age readers. The main text consists of often interesting facts about the title animal of each book. However, the few lines of text on each page are largely overshadowed by the large, humorous cartoons that support and expand on the facts. Sometimes the cartoons stand alone; other times, they form a loose narrative. Several cartoons in Do You Know the Rhinoceros? play on bathroom humor related to the rhinoceros diet that includes wildebeest dung (the cartoon shows a rhinoceros sniffing in happy anticipation) and sharp, thorny plants (which the cartoon suggests are painful to excrete). The back matter includes labeled sketches of other animals covered in the series. Young readers will almost certainly enjoy these books d may even pick up a little bit of knowledge about the animals.

BERGERON, Alain M. , Michel Quintin , &; Sampar . Do You Know?: Tigers . ISBN 9781554553556 . ea vol: tr. from French by Solange Messier. illus. by Sampar. 64p. (Do You Know?). glossary. index. Fitzhenry &; Whiteside . 2015. pap. $9.95. Gr 2-4 These latest entries in a series known for in-your-face gross-out humor continue the tradition. Straightforward facts are presented at the bottom of each page, accompanied by garish, comic book-style illustrations that anthropomorphize the animals and exaggerate and trivialize the content. For instance, one page in Rhinoceros reads, "Black rhinoceros are one of the few species that eat thorny vegetation." The image depicts a sweating rhino in an outhouse with a dialogue bubble that reads, "Ouch! The problem isn't swallowing them!" Similarly, Tigers explains that these animals are usually solitary but come together to mate over a five-day period and that females give birth to two to four cubs after 15 or 16 weeks of pregnancy. A picture of a scratched-up stork delivering diapered cubs to a tiger in bed demonstrates this detail. This sharp contrast in tone between text and illustrations could easily confuse early readers. VERDICT The broad humor of the visuals will appeal to some, but these selections are not essential purchases. Frances E. Millhouser, formerly at Fairfax County Public Library, VA