Grade 2–4—These simplistic works aim to introduce students to specific habitats and to the animals and plants inhabiting them. The texts are nearly identical, with only the names of the creatures and the illustrations differentiating the areas discussed. The tables of contents are virtually interchangeable, and the topics discussed include weather, food, warmth, and homes. In Desert, an additional chapter, "Night Life," states that coyotes can smell in the dark. The indexes are close to unusable, and some of the words in the texts are in bold for no apparent reason. The color illustrations—some photographs, some drawings—are quite good, but there are no maps to show the places discussed. Marginal purchases.—Eva Elisabeth VonAncken, Trinity-Pawling School, Pawling, NY Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
