Outside And Inside Alligators

From School Library Journal Grade 3-6-Beginning with an enthusiastic, "Alligators are amazing!," Markle drives home her point in this accessible and visually appealing introduction. Writing in the second person, she places the animals on a more immediate, personal level for readers as in the comment, "You have twenty-four back bones; an alligator has sixty-five." Large, full-color photographs abound, enhancing every page. Close-up pictures of the animal's stomach and its contents, along with other internal organs, have a certain gross appeal. They are offset by delightful photographs of hatchlings and a gator mom nose to nose with her baby. Unbroken by chapter divisions, the text will draw browsers and report writers alike. Phyllis Perry's Crocodilians (Watts, 1997) offers much the same information and includes habitat maps. Markle's appealing title won't sit on library shelves for long.