Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* In the same format as Nic Bishop Butterflies and Moths (2009) and Nic Bishop Frogs (2008), the scientist/photographer now introduces marsupials. This broad-ranging discussion includes the Virginia opossum and related animals in the Americas before turning to the main topic, the varied marsupials of Australia. Large in scale and often exceptionally clear, the many color photos will attract animal lovers to the book. A typical double-page spread includes a photo, a caption, and two or three paragraphs discussing the animals. On each page, one sentence within a paragraph is printed in large, colorful type, effectively creating a short text suitable for reading aloud to a younger child. In the book's center, double-gatefold pages open outward, creating a wide quadruple-page spread showing four stages of a sugar glider's flight. The volume concludes with a short glossary and a note in which Bishop describes his experiences photographing marsupials in Australia. This inviting title pairs some remarkable photos with a wealth of intriguing facts.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2009 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-This book is full of the exceptional-quality photographs and enticing facts that readers have come to expect from Bishop. His endnotes explain how he captured the images using trip wires and bait for many of these nocturnal mammals. In addition to captions, an informative sentence is highlighted in a contrasting color and larger type within explanatory paragraphs that accompany each stunning image. Readers learn that baby koalas eat "pap," a mushy, green baby food that is actually their mother's "poop," that some marsupials don't have pouches, and that all start out the size of a bean or smaller. Details like these are accompanied by tangible analogies that enhance the facts. The center spread opens out into four pages that reveal a dramatic multiple exposure of a sugar glider leaping across an expanse in a sequence that captures its flight. This is a book to wow young audiences.-Janet S. Thompson, Chicago Public Library (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
