11/01/2014
Gr 1–3—Focusing on animal behaviors in winter, each title examines hibernation or migration from fall to spring. Three to four large-type sentences per spread, supplemented by fact boxes, should be easy for young readers to navigate. The basic vocabulary limits the excitement level of the text, so the books are most engaging when the content is especially amazing, such as when the author emphasizes the wood frog's frozen hibernation. Most highlighted features relate directly to the animal's winter habits, so readers learn about the little barn owl's hooked claws but not about more general subjects, such as echolocation. Many spreads feature a large photograph, with occasional captioned insets. Though the majority of the images are of decent quality, the impact is sometimes limited. We learn that barn swallows migrate in groups, for example, but we don't see any flocks flying South. Range maps and a closing list of facts round out these solid and simple introductions.
