K-Gr 3—This attractive set definitely leans more on the cute side than the weird. Each opening spread uses a variety of font styles to introduce the notable physical characteristics of the subject. Size, appearance, enemies, diet, and babies are covered.
Angora, Gecko, and
Tarsier make use of onomatopoeia. Overall the photos work well and include cut-outs, insets, and full-page images. A closing "More …" section gives three additional examples of animals with similar weird characteristics or other related species. The captioned photo glossaries occasionally struggle to illustrate complex verbs like
grind (Angora),
digest (
Hedgehog), and
poison (
Pufferfish).
VERDICT The variety of animals here makes this series a possibility for larger collections.
Though they offer only barebones information, these books for beginning readers are accessible introductions to standard features of nonfiction. With large close-up photos dominating the pages, each volume touches on its subject's habitat, diet, care of young, behaviors, and defenses; the "weird but cute" angle isn't a focus. Vocabulary words are printed in bold type and defined in an appended picture glossary. Reading list. Ind. Review covers these Weird but Cute titles: Barn Owl and Rockhopper Penguin.
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