BOLD AND BRIGHT BLACK-AND-WHITE ANIMALS

Zebras, penguins, and pandas come to mind, but Patent (Homesteading, p. 1193, etc.) finds many other animals that have this “flashy color combo” in a book that’s black and white and certain to be read all over. Killer whales, skunks, pelicans, and dalmatians (spelled Dalmation here) have the coloring of crossword puzzles, but for very different reasons, e.g., identification, warning to predators, and more. Lesser known animals—the sea snake, the colobus monkey, and the cleaner wrasse—are included, too. Bold pictures feature the various animals in their environments; this is one of Patent’s more lighthearted outings, with more caprice in the explanations (“Its long black tail helps the lemur balance as it leaps like a giant furry frog from tree to tree”) than zoology. (index) (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-8)