Snailology (Backyard Buddies)

Snailology (Backyard Buddies)

Provides instructions for finding, collecting, and keeping snails and suggests how to delve into the secret lives of these shell dwellers. From School Library Journal Gr 3-5--Hands-on learning is emphasized in these introductory titles. Each one tells how to collect, house, and care for the subject animals; suggests about a half dozen simple activities designed to develop observation skills; and describes eight experiments testing the invertebrates' responses to various stimuli. The texts also briefly describe the major physical and behavioral characteristics and life cycles of crickets and snails, respectively. Clear full-color photographs are interspersed throughout. The depictions of the children are effective--their excitement and wonder are palpable--but little can be seen of the small animals they hold. Only one close-up of each creature appears, along with simplified anatomical diagrams and a number of cartoons, a half dozen of which are full-page. They add nothing to the texts. While the books are clearly written, anthropomorphism occasionally crops up. Other titles, such as Joanna Cole's An Insect's Body (Morrow, 1984) and Jennifer Coldrey's Discovering Slugs and Snails (Watts, 1987; o.p.), present more detailed information on these animals. While they do not include the activities and experiments offered in Ross's titles, their approach is uniformly scientific.Karey Wehner, San Francisco Public LibraryCopyright 1998 Cahners Business Information, Inc.