Going Ape!

PreS-Gr 1—Bustos offers simple facts about a variety of primates, from the well-known gorilla to the lesser-known De Brazza's monkey. The format is visually appealing, with large close-ups of faces of the different apes on the recto, and one or two sentences and a smaller illustration of each one on the verso. The large faces in particular will draw young readers in, as they are presented with bold, graphic features and coloring that pops off the white backgrounds. The smaller pictures include trees and shrubbery from the animals' environment, although they are not labeled as such. There is no glossary, which is unfortunate. For example, the description for the mangabey states, "The mangabey can be very noisy because he has a large throat-sac," a term that will be unfamiliar to most children. An attractive but additional purchase.—Lisa Gangemi Kropp, Half Hollow Hills Community Library, Dix Hills, NY