Duck (Observing Nature)

Stephen Savage is a biologist, natural history lecturer and Associate Member of the Institute of Biology. Author of over 26 natural history books for children, Stephen works with schoolchildren and adults focusing on the local environment and how people can discover its secrets for themselves.

Kindergarten-Grade 2?These simply written imports focus on the life cycle of the common black ant and the mallard duck, respectively. Divided into two-page topic treatments, the texts briefly describe the animals' physical features, diet, reproduction, developmental stages, natural enemies, and behavior. Large watercolor paintings depicting the creatures in their natural habitats appear in each section, with short blocks of bold-print text arranged above or below the illustrations. While the texts are easy to read, they are flawed by oversimplification. In Ant, readers are told that "There are several different kinds of ant..."; however, there are over 8,000 species extant. In both books, some important scientific terms have been omitted and those that do appear, such as "antennae" or "molt," are only defined in the glossaries. The average sizes of the animals are not included. Arthur Dorros's Ant Cities (Crowell, 1987) is far more detailed. Hans-Heinrich Isenbart's A Duckling Is Born (Putnam, 1981; o.p.) is illustrated with excellent full-color photographs. Although Savage's titles have an attractive format, the information provided is very limited.?Karey Wehner, San Francisco Public Library
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