AMUSING MOMENTS IN THE WILD

Younger children will enjoy the amusing photographs in this collection of nature photography, the third in the Moments in the Wild series (Peaceful Moments in the Wild: Animals and Their Homes, below, etc.). This volume makes good use of the series format, with colorful borders surrounding an intriguing photograph on each spread, with just one short, simple sentence in large, colored type. Within each sentence, the animal’s name is printed in white in a larger type size, providing a helpful structural hint to prereaders or new readers. Some spreads show just one animal; others show two, three, or four, often interacting in humorous ways, such as in a shot of four koalas in a row with their paws wrapped around each other. A few pairs of animals are shown in interactions that are distinctly unfriendly: a chameleon nabbing a bug for dinner and a pair of warthogs butting heads for territorial rights. This volume has a wide range of uses: toddlers and younger preschoolers will enjoy the arresting photographs, older preschoolers will also learn the names of some unusual animals, and new readers who like animals will find the simple one-sentence structure satisfying. The fantastic photographs are the stars here, with each striking shot worth more than the proverbial thousand words. (Nonfiction. 2-7)