GOBBLE IT UP!

“You’d gobble them up and they’d taste good” is the repeated line in this jaunty song about animal feeding that invites young children into the natural world. Raccoons, crocodiles, sharks, whales and pandas appear in their natural habitats, chowing down on crawdads, ducklings, fish, squid and bamboo. Arnosky’s characteristically detailed watercolors add information; they are accurate as well as appealing. The whale illustrated is a sperm whale, the giant squid’s only predator. The shark shares its shallow-water habitat with a pelican, and bats fly where the raccoon hunts by night. A rare lapse into personification that has the crocodile fooling ducklings with a smile can be forgiven in light of the charm of the rhythmic text and easy-to-sing melody for preschool listeners. The real strength of this offering is its clear-eyed look at nature red in tooth and claw; preschoolers who have sent zillions of monkeys into the maw of Mr. Alligator will understand this. A CD with Arnosky playing the guitar and singing his song is part of the package. (Informational picture book. 3-7)