Review by Booklist Review
PreS-Gr. 1. The sun is setting. Many animals are going to sleep. But the platypus . . . is just waking up. Short sentences in boldface type introduce a day in the life of this curious animal, imparting a surprising amount of information in just a few words. Beginning readers will learn what platypuses eat, what they look like (about as long as a cat with thick, slick fur and a long strong tail like a beaver ), where they make their homes, and so on. A passage that reads, The platypus is a mammal. People are mammals, too may confuse young children, who may need a fuller explanation of mammal. But Clarke neatly combines facts with a simple, exciting text filled with engaging action words (She twists and twirls. She spins and swoops ) and glossy computer-generated close-ups of the animal at work and play. Suggest this Step into Reading title to new readers looking for a good nonfiction choice. --Gillian Engberg Copyright 2004 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
