The Ice Age Tracker's Guide

Gr 3—5—"Hunters" of Ice Age fauna will find the tawny pages in this "guide" a trove of pointers for identifying a round dozen of predators and prey. What does a giant ground sloth's poop look like? Just how big is a dwarf elephant? And where might one come across a marsupial lion? Fact boxes add a few details, and "Warning!" boxes advise wariness of anti-human behaviors. Size, shape, food, fur (if any), locations, and other tidbits are scattered about the watercolor and ink illustrations, and are reinforced by two pages of solid paragraphs of text on each creature. Lister, a respected British paleontologist, writes with authority in this lighthearted, informational work. A double-page global distribution map uses color coding to pinpoint specific locations for the species described. While not as wildly popular as T. rex or Argentineosaurus, critters like saber-tooth cats and woolly rhinos can give them a run for their money. And then there's that Litoptern....—Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY