Animals in Motion: How Animals Swim, Jump, Slither and Glide (Animal Behavior) - Hardcover

Pamela Hickman is a natural science writer and the author of many nature activity books for children. She lives in Canning, Nova Scotia.

Grade 2-5-Children curious about the natural world will find much to satisfy them in this look at animal movement. The chapters are organized according to method of locomotion ("Swimmers and floaters," "Hoppers and jumpers," "Runners and walkers," etc.). There's a lot of information to be found here, but what gives this book a different twist is that it encourages kids to think about the ways animals move and compare them to their own means of locomotion. Most chapters include an experiment designed to provide more insight. For example, one of them gives instructions for making a device that imitates the movements of the Australian Sugar Glider, a flying-squirrel-like creature. Another gives readers a formula they can use to measure their jumping ability against that of other creatures by determining the number of body lengths covered. This approach is a great help in clarifying the concepts and it provides a lot of fun, too. The lively text is nicely complemented by attractive, realistic drawings. While this title wouldn't be a first choice for research purposes, it's a great selection for browsers.
Arwen Marshall, formerly at New York Public Library
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