Untamed: Animals Around the World
Gr. 4-7. With astonishing color photos Bloom took in the wild, beautifully reproduced on thick, glossy paper, this oversize volume captures animals in their natural habitat, from polar bears on an ice floe to a huge herd of migrating gnu on the east African savannah. One amazing shot shows a great white shark leaping out of the ocean; it took Bloom 15 days to get the picture. The exclamatory text, written by Christian Havard, is too cute and condescending ("the male peacock is a regular Casanova"; some animals have "really weird" sleeping habits), though Havard does add some interesting commentary and connections about habitat, tools, and the threat to the animals' environment. Occasional spot illustrations by Zicot fill out the page design nicely, but Bloom's photos are the real attraction here; they will move kids with their plea for conservation.Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved