THE LEOPARD SON
by Hugo van Lawick & adapted by Kit Carlson & Jackie Ball
The Leopard Son ($14.95; Oct. 4, 1996; 30 pp.; 0-07-016061-9): A year in the life of a leopard cub at home on the Serengeti Plain of East Africa. The prose is trite: ``The creature roars—a sound like distant thunder''; ``his nose twitches as if it were alive, sniffing, sniffing.'' Included are charming, full-color shots of the cuddly leopard cub, but the uncaptioned photographs are frequently clipped, cropped, and superimposed on other photos, making it difficult to find the focal points, or to get a sense of habitat or scale. Children who see the movie on which this book is based may find this appealing, but as a stand-alone it is inferior to many fine wildlife titles available. (Picture book. 8-10)