Basic information about the lives of young wild animals is ably supported by excellent photographs. Short, declarative sentences cover food, grooming, play, and social groups, often with a single fact or two about each topic: “Tiger cubs are born! They drink their mother’s milk!” While the text de- scribes physical features and behaviors at a level accessible to new readers, vivid photos show the animals in action in their natural environment. The images highlight unique characteristics, like the baby elephant’s wrin- kles and the tiger’s claws, as well as action scenes of jumping monkeys and lion cubs at play. A captioned full-body photo at the end identifies key body parts. VERDICT Pleasing choices for the youngest nonfiction readers.

Preschoolers and early readers will benefit from the large photographs and simple, repetitive text in this adorable entry in the Baby Animals in the Wild! series (8 titles). The book accompanies a giraffe calf as it is cared for by its mother, grows, runs, eats, and finds protection from its herd.
Most content is presented on a double-page spread, two-thirds of which is filled by a crisp photo of the gangly calf, often with its mother, and one to three short sentences in a large font that complement the scene on display.
Elements of the illustrations are frequently labeled with a vocabulary word in a colored circle, and the book concludes with a diagram of the calf, labeling its physical features, and a picture glossary. A pleasing primer for animal lovers.