(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Carl Wiens. An informative introduction to the way the natural world can influence the built environment features discussion of global architecture and design that intentionally (and unintentionally) copies nature. Photos of real-life structures sit alongside appealingly straightforward hand-drawn images and diagrams. Several manageable activities demonstrating eco-design principles along with design-it-yourself prompts will inspire budding architects to consider the ways nature can help solve design challenges. Bib., glos., ind.

Reviewer: Erica Wetter

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Marilyn Faucher. Analogies between animal and human behavior are meant to help readers understand how animals act and why. Honeybees dance, gazelles play tag, leaf-cutter ants grow food for themselves. Pages depicting children in family activities alternate with pages illustrating similar animal actions, with paragraphs explaining the reasons for each behavior. Full-bleed, sometimes goofy watercolor illustrations supplement the text.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by David Anderson. Caricatures illustrate this examination of some underappreciated or feared animals. In lively prose, scientific facts--the good, the bad, and the ugly--about rats, cockroaches, snakes, leeches, and even rabbits are juxtaposed with humor to make readers reevaluate their perspectives, broaden understanding of these creatures' environmental niches, and illuminate complex questions about their value. Bib., ind.

Reviewer: Paula M. Cairo

(4) K-3 Illustrated by David Anderson. Equipped with microphones, Cockatoo and Walrus host the World Animal Games in which animal athletes compete in seven events. Sidebars introduce each competitor's class, home, habitat, and food source, while enthusiastic onlookers cheer and share jokes. A page turn reveals the winner and includes human records in the category. Amateurish cartoon illustrations lend more humor to this lighthearted introduction to amazing animal locomotion.

Reviewer: Tamara DePasquale

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Stephen MacEachern. Fictional Corry travels worldwide with her engineer parents for a year collecting postcards, information, and examples regarding skyscrapers, bridges, tunnels, domes, dams, levees, etc., with some doable experiments to illustrate principles. Accurate, accessible information about the multiple engineering challenges of such structures is enriched with numerous photos and drawings; the tone is light, but the subject is treated seriously. Glos., ind.

Reviewer: Frieda F. Bostian

(3) K-3 Have You Ever Seen? series. Illustrated by Jeff Szuc. People may wear sunscreen, sunglasses, and snowshoes, but the seven featured animals have their own physical adaptations to their environments. Large type, very brief question-and-answer text ("Have you ever seen a turtle with a snorkel?"), and humorous illustrations make the volume accessible and entertaining for young readers. A game relating to the text uses the endpapers for a board.

Reviewer: Barbara Barstow

(3) K-3 Have You Ever Seen? series. Illustrated by Jeff Szuc. This book features seven animals that construct their homes using similar building materials to humans (e.g., wood, mud, stone). Each silly question, styled after the book's title, is illustrated with an equally amusing picture of an anthropomorphized animal (e.g., a mouse mowing the lawn, a termite wearing a hardhat). Endpapers double as a game board for comparing and contrasting homes.

Reviewer: Sophie Williamson

(3) K-3 Have You Ever Seen? series. Illustrated by Jeff Szuc. Through a series of patterned questions, Kaner draws readers into explanations of adaptations that help animals survive in their environments (e.g., ducks' water-repellent feathers, whales' blubber). The text presents parallels between humans and animals, shown in clear, bright acrylic illustrations, that kids will surely enjoy ("Have you ever seen a cheetah in soccer cleats?"). An animal tic-tac-toe game using the endpapers is appended.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(3) K-3 Have You Ever Seen? series. Illustrated by Jeff Szuc. Using admittedly "silly" questions, Kaner introduces readers to animals that use tools in ways similar to humans. Brooms, grocery bags, back scratchers, and the like are all depicted with their natural-world counterparts (e.g., leaves and moss are chimpanzees' washcloths). Szuc's bright acrylic paintings provide humor and action. A compare-and-contrast game for readers using the endpaper art is appended.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(3) PS Exploring the Elements series. Illustrated by Marie Lafrance. On each double-page spread, a child says why he or she likes rain ("...because sometimes I hear thunder"), then wonders aloud about the rain-related concept ("I wonder why it thunders"). Factual information that addresses each question is hidden under clever lift-up flaps. The main pages' color-saturated acrylic paintings set the scene; spot art on the flaps helps explain the science.

Reviewer: Lauren Maggio

(3) PS Exploring the Elements series. Illustrated by Marie Lafrance. The left-hand pages feature simple statements about why someone might like the sun ("I like the sun because I get to wear my sunglasses"). Right-hand pages then present queries ("I wonder how sunglasses work"), which are answered on fold-out flaps. The main pages' color-saturated acrylic paintings tell a story while the flap pages illustrated with spot art help explain the concepts.

Reviewer: Lauren Maggio

(3) PS Exploring the Elements series. Illustrated by Marie Lafrance. "Who likes the snow?" In a series of double-page spreads, children respond in the affirmative and give their reasons ("it covers the ground like a white blanket") on the verso page. On the recto, they ask a related science-based question ("I wonder why snow is white"), which is cleverly answered after readers lift a flap. Blue-hued acrylics reflect the season.

Reviewer: Lauren Maggio

(4) K-3 Kids Can Read series. Illustrated by Pat Stephens. These colorful, appealingly simple books explain animal defense strategies and sensory talents. Readers learn how an elephant's ears keep it cool, and how a hognose snake plays dead--dripping blood and all. Realistic painted illustrations allow for close-up examinations, and use some surprising perspectives, such as a frog's-eye-view, sure to engage young readers. Both books end too abruptly, without tying the information together. Review covers these Kids Can Read titles: How Animals Use Their Senses and How Animals Defend Themselves.

Reviewer: Elizabeth Shaver

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Pat Stephens. Divided into sections such as mammals, sea life, and insects, information about the different ways, distances, seasons, and reasons for migration are dryly detailed. Specific animals are featured in each category for a closer look at their migrating patterns. Simple experiments help to explain the hows and whys of animal behavior. Serviceable art illustrates the book. Ind.

Reviewer: Hilary Breed Van Dusen

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Pat Stephens. This survey of animals explores the advantages of living, hunting, grooming, defending, nurturing, and migrating in groups. From elephants to monarch butterflies, mongooses to snakes, a wide variety of animals are used as examples; scattered sidebars provide more detailed information. The book's realistic color art aptly captures the behaviors discussed in the text. Ind.

Reviewer: Hilary Breed Van Dusen

(4) 4-6 Illustrated by Greg Douglas. A straightforward text and realistic illustrations provide a general overview of the various forms of animal communication. A large number of animals--including monkeys, birds, lemurs, moths, and dolphins--are featured and demonstrate the physiological traits used for communicating danger, attraction, submission, etc. Six activities offer limited hands-on learning. Ind.

Reviewer: Hilary Breed Van Dusen

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Pat Stephens. Kaner opens her book by asking, "What do you do when you're afraid?" Then in clear, engaging prose, she introduces animals' different defense systems (camouflage, display, trickery, imitation, symbiosis, and others) and provides examples of animals that practice each one. Realistic full-page and spot watercolor and pencil illustrations add to the book's appeal. Ind.

Reviewer: Jackie C. Horne