MY FIRST BOOK OF WILD ANIMALS

Lions, tigers, bears and more for the youngest readers.

A howling wolf, a herd of wildebeest and a stampeding rhinoceros are among the others shown on single- or double-page spreads accompanied by simple labels in a bold, high-contrast type. Many of the images, credited to a long list of wildlife photographers in the backmatter, are quite breathtaking, such as the eagle in flight and a dolphin leaping through the waves. Some pictures are strangely cropped, particularly the hippo, the tiger and gray whale, and unfortunately do not give little ones a sense of the entire animal. The companion book, My First Book of Baby Animals, is almost identical in form and structure, but it lists the name for each baby animal (kit, cub, calf, etc.) along with the animal’s name in the caption. Some of the same animals are repeated in both books, such as lion, panda, polar bear, elephant, kangaroo and gorilla. Several of the critters are shown with a parent; a cygnet rides on a grown swan’s back, and a foal is nicely framed by a full-size zebra.

While full images of all of the animals would have been preferable, this is a simple and useful introduction with eye-catching images.