RARE AND UNUSUAL ANIMALS

A rare kind of mouse, a rare anteater, tapir, dolphin, antelope, tortoise, lizard, crane, and several other rare animals are showcased here in one-to-seven photos and short paragraphs apiece. Some are familiar to readers of children's animal books; others are relatively unknown. Some, such as the Okapi (with the back of a zebra, the body of a horse, and a neck and head like a giraffe) and the giant Komodo Dragon, were thought to be natives' legends until ""discovered"" by zoologists. Leen doesn't say how she got her photos, or whether her subjects were snapped in the wild or in captivity. However, all the pictures have a natural, spontaneous look, and all show off splendidly the characteristics or behavior mentioned in the text. There's nothing systematic about the book, and like others by Leen it's more an album than a natural-history lesson; but once more, it's an impressive album and one is easily caught up in its pages.