DANCERS IN THE GARDEN

Drawing on her own observations of Allen's hummingbird (Selasphorus sasin) in San Francisco and on scholarly sources, Ryder follows a male through a typical day in which he encounters a female and mates (offstage). Formatted as verse, the narrative is graciously cadenced and informative, celebrating the little bird's appearance and behavior. In delicately detailed, gold- bordered art, scientific-illustrator Lopez sets this particular hummingbird in Golden Gate Park's lovely Japanese Tea Garden, presenting in precise detail its morning mists, carefully tended specimen plants, and occasional artifacts; best is the jewel-like bird, in myriad poses in flight and at rest. A final note extends the information and suggests how to attract these nectar-loving birds. LC classes this as fiction. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 4+)