DAYTIME AND NIGHTTIME

Profiles of varied diurnal and nocturnal inhabitants of global habitats.

Like the creators’ North Pole / South Pole (2020), this book is evenly divided between two types of animals; kids can start off reading about one group, then flip the volume over to learn about the other. Crepuscular animals mediate between the halves. Each page briefly identifies and explores a particular habitat, from the Australian outback to North American prairies. The same environments appear in both sections. Intriguingly labeled paragraphs describe noteworthy denizens (like the “rabbit imposter” vizcacha of the Andes Mountains) and the habitats themselves. The well-written text includes wonderfully specific details, like the speed at which a panther chameleon thrusts out its tongue, as well as some esoteric information, like the difference between monotremes and marsupials. (Though clownfish and sea anemones offer a perfect illustration of symbiosis, that term is not used to describe their relationship.) The visuals balance their focus between settings and inhabitants. On some pages, the animals are labeled with small-type pages; not all are (though they are identified in the main text), which may frustrate curious readers. As in the previous book, the absence of an index is disappointing, and the nighttime section avoids mentioning human light pollution. But the dramatic and colorful artwork is attention-grabbing and provides both context and detail.

Celebrating some of the multifarious life-forms in diverse Earth environments.