WHO'S THAT...PLAYING?

Adorable photos of ducklings, bear cubs, penguin chicks, piglets and more at play.

Each picture is set against a solid background and shows various critters splashing, play-fighting, leaping and chasing. The left-hand page is a broader shot of the animal at play in its environment; the puppy chases a ball through a field as the text asks, “Who’s that bounding?” An accompanying sound effect (BOING; SPLISH SPLOSH; SQUEAL) in a lively typeface is printed on a strip that is the same color as the background. The facing page shows a close-up of the animal and shares two simple facts: “We are lambs. We have big, brown eyes and soft, woolly coats.” One body part or feature of each young animal is labeled with a dotted line to encourage grown-ups to name parts of the photo with youngsters. The companion book, Who’s That...Eating? See How the Animals Eat (978-0-7534-7070-1), follows an identical format, but here, the focus is on the eating habits of adult wild animals, such as giant pandas, otters, squirrels and anteaters. Some expressive and vocabulary-building words (gnaw, slurp, nibble and chomp) describe the various animals’ actions.

Both this and its companion are winning additions to this effective nonfiction series for the youngest learners.