WONDERFUL PUSSY WILLOWS

Striking color photos—as beautifully composed as they are informative, with many of them magnified to show the dozens of tiny flowers that make up a single catkin, the stages of growth, pollination, etc.—are accompanied by a lucid text detailing growth and characteristics of this appealing species and its place in the plant kingdom. An unusually attractive offering for budding botanists, photographers, or anyone who's ever rejoiced in this unique harbinger of spring. (Nonfiction. 4-10)