About Raptors

K-Gr 2—This book comes as a boon to young audiences. One short, clearly written sentence or phrase per page communicates the basics about raptors: who they are, where they live, what they eat, and how they hunt. Their similarities, such as strong feet with sharp claws, and their differences, such as locations and kinds of nests, communicate diversity in raptors throughout the world. Eighteen quality watercolors focus on the birds in their natural habitats. Then in an afterword, all of the illustrations are included in miniature with a short paragraph expanding upon the original topics introduced in the text. These deeper explanations reveal more details: "Some raptors that raise their chicks on cliffs and ledges do not build a nest. They scrape out a place in the dirt and gravel to lay their eggs." This book is a must-buy for all libraries interested in building a strong natural-science collection for their young patrons.—Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA