Even if these overly cute, elfin innocents pursuing wildlife with their ""critter carriers"" weren't visually distasteful, the concept of encouraging early graders to indiscriminately capture and cage small animals is questionable from both conservationist and educational standpoints. Piecewicz does not seem to have considered the morality of domesticating wild turtles which are increasingly scarce, unlikely to survive long in captivity and possibly even salmonella carriers. Her instruction in the technique of catching fireflies is surely superfluous, and, as for frogs, we're told that the leopard, pickerel and green varieties make ""great pets,"" but not how to recognize any of the three. Paul Villiard's Insects. . . and Reptiles As Pets (KR 1973 and 1969) offer more specifics on identification and care for the somewhat older child who is more likely than these toddlers to go tadpole hunting unsupervised, and both Villiard and Ewbank (Insect Zoo, KR 1973) emphasize the nature study aspect of an activity which can be quite unsporting if undertaken with no goal besides the triumph of the catch.