THE WORLD OF ANIMALS

From the famed author of The Naked Ape (1967), who's also been a zoo curator and a TV host, a description of 20 familiar animals that's like a zoo tour with a wonderfully informed and articulate teacher who presents the animals' habitats, social patterns, peculiarities, and ability to resist man's incursions. From giant whales to little armadillos and bush babies, he includes favorites like the gorilla, chimp, giraffe, tiger, kangaroo, and zebra, adding a wealth of recently discovered or unfamiliar facts and and insights. Morris's theme is that animals should be approached with an eye unclouded by myth, sentimentality, or other preconceptions, all of which he is at pains to dispel (he comments that Disney's animal heros have flat, human-like faces, while his villains are invariably sharp- nosed). Pandas, for example, are actually fiercely solitary, while rhinos can be quite cuddly. Barrett's delicately detailed paintings mirror the factual approach in handsome portraits and in details like an elephant nursing or a platypus's "spurs." Sizes are carefully noted in the text, in metric units ("metres," "kilos," "tonnes"). A thoroughly engrossing and entertaining survey in attractive oversize format. (Nonfiction. 4+)