~ from the library

This is a sweet little book at the beginning 2nd Grade reading level (AR 2.0). There are 229 words which are in a large font.

And I like this book because I can see getting years of use out it. Yes, it's a primer at the Second Grade reading level, but you could certainly read this book to toddlers and preschoolers, letting them hear the rhyme while you pause and name the animals, giving what information you know about them.

The whole theme of the book is how we mom's love our darlings. For mama and baby elephant:

Mama loves
her little one.
She stays with him
night and day.

When her little one
gets hot,
she shoots
a cooling spray

Besides elephants, there are bears, cats, whales, pandas, otters, ducks, deer, robins, lions, beavers, koalas, kangaroos, raccoons, dogs, bats, possums, and even wolves shown. So a nice list of animals to share.

Finally, the artwork by Lisa McCue is very nice. It's in that old, warm and friendly kid-style; and very appealing.

So a nice versatile book. ( )