Almost Everything
PreSchool-Grade 3–Following the same format asZoo-Ology(Roaring Brook, 2003), Jolivet has taken 13 diverse categories such as trees and flowers, the human body, tools, and historical costumes, and illustrated dozens of objects both unique and commonplace on spreads almost two feet high. There is no attempt to maintain relative size. The hedgehog is the same size as the snail, the squirrel is smaller than the butterfly, etc. Extinct animals mingle with those that are not, and colors are not always natural. While some objects are specifically labeled, many are given only their generic name, e.g., duck or frog as opposed to mallard duck or red-eyed tree frog. The glossary provides more information, but some of it is misleading. The entry under crab states that these animals live …between rocks on the seaside, a statement that is not true for the one pictured and the majority of others. The pages on the human body feature an anatomically correct male and female, as well as a silhouette of a child in utero. The linocut prints can be appreciated for their artistic quality and will be fun for browsers to pore over, but instructive possibilities are limited.–Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.