  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 04/15/2014 With nonfiction early readers often in short supply compared to their fictional counterparts, these titles in the American Museum of Natural History Easy Readers series fill a gap in early literacy. Upbeat, high-interest text about amazing animal feats and eye-catching color photographs form a winning combination to engage young readers. World’s Fastest Animals looks at the many ways that animals around the world can claim to be the fastest, including the sailfish, which can swim up to 68 miles per hour; the peregrine falcon, which can dive at a speed of more than 200 miles per hour; or the chameleon, which has the fastest tongue on earth, able to grab an insect quicker than a blink of an eye. Books in the series offer many surprises in the form of unfamiliar animals that take the idea of the “most” of something in new and unexpected directions, and conclude with a profile of a herpetologist from the American Museum of Natural History. Easy—and appealing. - Copyright 2014 Booklist. School Library Journal - 05/01/2014 K-Gr 2—From this varied and vibrant look at speedy animals, children will discover many intriguing facts, such as what fish is even faster than a cheetah and what bird dives faster than 200 miles per hour to catch a meal. The text is simple and easy to comprehend, while the high-quality stock photos are bright and energetic. Stewart enlivens the information by dropping in material on how long, how far, or on what terrain the speed can be maintained. She also makes use of clever ways to gain readers' attention, such as including the surprising example of the cone snail, a creature that slowly moves across the sandy ocean bottom and whose protruding tube quickly shoots poison to capture its prey, or discussing unusual skills, such as which insect flaps its wings the fastest. This smoothly written, well-illustrated title will draw children in, satisfy their curiosity, and inspire them to seek out more information on the topic.—Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA - Copyright 2014 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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