(3) K-3 Teacher Mrs. Best brings eggs into the classroom for an incubation project with her kindergartners. Clear, informative text details the hatching process, and further egg/chick information is provided in captions and sidebars. Some of Arnold's bright, sharp photos of beady-eyed chicks and wide-eyed children span across spreads, enhancing this thorough, well-designed book. Additional questions and answers are appended. Reading list, websites. Glos.

Reviewer: Nancy Sheridan

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Andrew Plant. Perfect for mid-elementary paleontology enthusiasts, this book opens a window to the prehistoric past. Examining six "living fossils" ("an informal term for a modern-day plant or animal that resembles its ancient relatives"), Arnold clearly describes each ancestor and how its relative survives today; lifelike acrylic paintings differentiate the "then" and "now" of back-to-back spreads. Reading list, timeline, websites. Glos.

Reviewer: Jack Forman

(3) K-3 Caroline Arnold's Habitats series. Double-page spreads feature vibrantly colored collage animals (not to scale) against appropriately colored backgrounds (browns for Desert; greens for Rain Forest). The engaging text describes animal behavior and survival mechanisms. A description of each habitat, a world map, "Fun Facts," and two Common Core–aligned critical-thinking exercises are appended. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Caroline Arnold's Habitats titles: A Day and Night in the Desert and A Day and Night in the Rain Forest.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(3) K-3 Caroline Arnold's Habitats series. Double-page spreads feature vibrantly colored collage animals (not to scale) against appropriately colored backgrounds (browns for Desert; greens for Rain Forest). The engaging text describes animal behavior and survival mechanisms. A description of each habitat, a world map, "Fun Facts," and two Common Core–aligned critical-thinking exercises are appended. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Caroline Arnold's Habitats titles: A Day and Night in the Desert and A Day and Night in the Rain Forest.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Annie Patterson. Arnold's explanations of how humans and animals regulate their body temperatures are simple, accurate, and organized into major sections: "Our Bodies Keep Us Warm or Cool," touches on features and mechanisms such as fat, sweating, and shrinking blood vessels; "What We Do to Be Warm or Cold" addresses behavioral techniques (sunbathing, migrating, etc.). Patterson's watercolors engagingly illustrate and expand the text. Glos.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Jamie Hogan. Arnold explains the effects of climate change on animals and other life. Most, like marmots and coral, have gone extinct or are threatened, while a few (e.g., Arctic foxes) have benefited from the effects of rising temperatures on their habitats. Somewhat busy mixed-media layouts that centerpiece charcoal and pastel illustrations only slightly detract from the excellent information. Reading list, websites. Glos.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) 4-6 Searchlight Books: How Does Your Body Work? series. Simple chapters introduce the basics of these five human body systems: their structure, function, and how the various components interact. A few sentences on each page accompany largely generic, full-color photographs, photo-micrographs, and labeled diagrams. Text boxes are included on each spread but are mostly redundant. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these How Does Your Body Work? titles: Your Circulatory System, Your Muscular System, Your Nervous System, Your Skeletal System, and Your Respiratory System.

Reviewer: Gail Hedges

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Laurie Caple. Arnold introduces dinosaur species that lived during the Cretaceous Period in the polar regions, once thought too cold for dinosaur survival. After an introduction on paleoclimatology and fossil finds, the discussion alternates between descriptions of major species and historical accounts of scientists and fossil collectors. Caple's luminous watercolors place the dinosaurs in lush northern forests and beaches reminiscent of today's Pacific Northwest. Websites. Ind.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2010

(3) K-3 Caroline Arnold's Animals series. Attractive cut-paper illustrations highlight the narrative story of a walrus pup (A Walrus' World) and two polar bear cubs (A Polar Bear's World) from birth through the first two years of life. An opening page lists basic facts about the title animal; small text boxes throughout offer information that adds background knowledge to the ongoing story. Maps are included. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Caroline Arnold's Animals titles: A Polar Bear's World and A Walrus' World.

Reviewer: Lauren Aimonette LIang

(3) K-3 Caroline Arnold's Animals series. Attractive cut-paper illustrations highlight the narrative story of a walrus pup (A Walrus' World) and two polar bear cubs (A Polar Bear's World) from birth through the first two years of life. An opening page lists basic facts about the title animal; small text boxes throughout offer information that adds background knowledge to the ongoing story. Maps are included. Reading list. Glos., ind. Review covers these Caroline Arnold's Animals titles: A Polar Bear's World and A Walrus' World.

Reviewer: Lauren Aimonette LIang

(3) K-3 Caroline Arnold's Animals series. Attractive cut-paper illustrations highlight the narrative story of two eaglets from birth through their first year of life. An opening page lists basic facts about the eagles; small text boxes throughout offer information that adds background knowledge to the ongoing story. A map is included. Reading list. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Lauren Aimonette LIang

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Laurie Caple. Arnold interweaves data about three major reptile groups--ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and mosasaurs--with accounts of fossil finds and theoretical advances that helped paleontologists put together the facts upon which the book is based. Size, eating habits, and location are explored. Arnold's informative text is accompanied by Caple's finely detailed illustrations of the various creatures in action under the sea. Timeline. Ind.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2008

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Mary Peterson. Five short chapters depict the daily lives of a pair of earthworm best friends. Wiggle and Waggle exercise teamwork and sing a song as they loosen the earth in a garden, also making time to take a picnic break. The easy-to-read text and friendly digitally colored pencil illustrations tell an amusing story while also imparting some facts about earthworms and gardens.

Reviewer: David Elzey

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne. This informative text first highlights common characteristics of marine mammals, such as their streamlined bodies, mechanisms for breathing and storing oxygen, and how they learn to swim, then discusses various types of mammals, including whales, walruses, sea otters, and polar bears. Sea-toned illustrations and factual asides provide additional details. Glos.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Rahul Bhushan. Mughal emperor Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal as a tomb for his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal and a monument to their enduring love. Layering history, politics, architecture, and legend atop the fictionalized love story, the text can be hard to follow. Meticulously rendered miniature paintings framed by gold embossed papers lend cultural authenticity. Extensive back matter is included. Bib.

Reviewer: Amy Lois Cohn

(4) K-3 Early Bird Body Systems series. Using straightforward text, these accessible resources introduce the major body systems. Photos and illustrated diagrams complement the text, but some micrographs lack sufficient labels. Each book begins with a key-word preview that invites readers to be "word detectives" and concludes with tips for adults on reading with a child. Reading list, websites. Bib., ind. Review covers these Early Bird Body Systems titles: The Skeletal System, The Respiratory System, The Digestive System, The Muscular System, The Nervous System, and The Circulatory System.

Reviewer: Elizabeth Shaver

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Laurie Caple. Pterosaurs ranged from the size of a sparrow to the largest creature that ever flew (indeed, pterosaurs are the only reptile that ever flew). Arnold's clearly written text introduces various types of pterosaur, describes their physiology, and discusses possible reasons for their extinction. The watercolor illustrations capture the diversity of the species. A list of museums where readers can see pterosaur fossils is included. Ind.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta

(2) 4-6 Photographs by Arthur Arnold. Uluru, the giant sandstone monolith in the Red Center of Australia, was known as Ayers Rock thirty years ago, and that is not all that is different: this book exemplifies the Aboriginals' repossession of their sacred site. The interface between ancient place, living people, and natural history is the crux. Close-ups, focusing on the region's plants and animals, mingle with spectacular shots of the terrain; the entire design is discreetly supportive. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2003

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Patricia J. Wynne. This well-organized volume clearly, simply, and uncondescendingly explains bird flight, with such subtopics as feathers, wings, taking off, flapping, hovering, gliding, steering, and landing. Careful, artistic illustrations range from many types of birds performing a particular maneuver to cutaways and close-ups of bird anatomy. A guess-the-bird feature concludes the book. Reading list. Glos.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Laurie Caple. Arnold describes mammoths, their young, their habits, and their interactions with people past and present (in fossil form, of course). She includes intriguing details about the ways remains were preserved and are studied today. Comparisons to related (more familiar) animals help put the information into perspective. The illustrations convey a sense of the vastness of ancient landscapes and the massiveness of the mammoths. Ind.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2002