(3) K-3 Step into Reading series. Illustrated by Karen Carr. After introducing herself, Chin, a paleontologist, perkily discusses the history of the study of coprolites (fossilized feces), what we can learn from them, how to recognize them, etc. To her credit, Chin isn't above kid-pleasing low humor (one chapter's subtitle: "It All Comes Out in the End"), but the squeamish reader's dignity will be restored by the book's modest, realistic art.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Karen Carr. Hybodus, a shark that lived 180 million years ago, was a fearless predator. This brief informational story follows the seven-foot creature as she strikes the much larger Elasmosaurus and later attacks a Liopleurodon in order to protect the baby she's soon to deliver. The prose has a flat, school-primer quality, but the menace of this prehistoric creature is well conveyed in the dark, digitally rendered illustrations.

Reviewer: Peter D. Sieruta