Booby Hatch
PreSchool-Grade 2-Lewin's story about Pepe, a blue-footed booby born on Hood Island, one of the Galapagos Islands off the coast of Ecuador, simplifies the species' life cycle so that young children can understand how the birds slowly grow and mature. Although the tone is more leisurely than dramatic, the narrative is totally satisfying as Pepe escapes predation by frigate birds, learns to fly, and joins a large flock to dive for a fish dinner. Eventually he has the urge to mate; he and a female exhibit courting behavior, a patterned dance where both display their large, blue feet. The actual mating is not pictured. The story ends as it began: "And soon a little white egg will sit in a circle of stones, on a tiny island, in a vast blue sea." Lewin's watercolor landscapes are spare and evocative, encompassing plenty of sky, ocean, and bare rock, and offering glimpses of other Galapagos creatures, such as lava lizards, marine iguanas, sea lions, and the area's well-known Sally Lightfoot crabs and Darwin's finches. At times, the bird's crossed eyes give a humorous touch to the book, entirely in keeping with the intended audience's age; with an adult's help, children will also understand the title's pun. A lovely book that succeeds in every way.Ellen Fader, Oregon State Library, SalemCopyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.