PIGS AREN’T DIRTY, BEARS AREN’T SLOW

Earning high marks for vivid imagery, Boutilier replaces stubbornly persistent fancy with at least as memorable fact for ten common animals: No, bats aren’t blind, and furthermore, “the tiny hog-nosed bat weighs only about as much as a dime, while the large flying fox bat has a wingspan as wide as a child’s bed.” No, spiders don’t like to bite people, but they do have an all-liquid diet, “drinking their meals in the form of a chunky soup or smoothie!” Supported by a mix of small color photos, jocular cartoons and close-up, accurately detailed portraits (the last all labeled in a visual key at the end), these lively excursions into the natural world will leave young readers with clearer views of how supposedly familiar animals really look, behave and for the most part, play beneficial roles. (bibliography, index) (Nonfiction. 8-11)