If You Were an Ant (First Facts)

An introduction to the physical characteristics, habits, and natural environment of the wood ant

Grade 1-3 --These anthropomorphized introductions offer little. They are narrated by a wood ant and a fantail goldfish, respectively, each of which briefly describes its habitats and general physical and behavioral characteristics. The ant book also describes how to start a simple ant farm in a glass jar; the fish book lists the basic equipment necessary for setting up an aquarium. Bright color drawings appear on every page; most are two-paged spreads with short blocks of text set in the background. The texts are clearly written and competently organized; however, the use of a first-person narrative to present facts is both awkward and condescending. Another annoying feature is the frequent use of rhetorical questions (e.g. Ant directs readers to "Look down on the ground. Can you see me?"). Some important information is omitted, and there are some minor inaccuracies. The color drawings of the animals are appealing, but they are stylized and lacking in detail. In Fish , drawings of seven supposedly different species are presented; however, the Celestial telescope fish is included twice (the Celestial and Popeye drawings are virtually identical--Popeye is another name for telescope fish). On a higher reading level, Fischer-Nagel's An Ant Colony (Carolrhoda , 1989) and Pope's Taking Care of Your Fish (Watts, 1988) cover much the same information in greater depth and include excellent color photos .
-Karey Wehner, San Francisco Public Library
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.