A first-rate animal series returns with updated editions. Each title provides a thorough, well-rounded profile of the featured animal, covering physical features, behavior, life cycles, and habitats, supported by well-chosen photographs and drawings. Historical events and popular culture tie-ins add context, along with a short folktale and poem. The writing is clear and engaging, with enough depth of information to match the curiosity of older elementary and middle school learners. Most, but not all, photographs were used in previous editions, with two-to-four new photos in each. This new set features revised layouts, redesigned range maps, and new covers to provide a nicely updated look. The text is largely unchanged, with the crucial exception of threatened status and species populations now reflecting 2020’s data. VERDICT Add individual titles to cover subject holes or consider the complete set as a strong, wide-ranging update to the animal shelves in your collection.

This in-depth nonfiction series, tailored for middle-grade readers, delves into the intriguing lives of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and fish. Both fast facts and in-depth information are accompanied by vivid images and fascinating information about the animals’ daily lives, dietary patterns, natural habitats, and greater ecological contributions. Built on a solid foundation of life sciences, and complemented by captions, charts and graphs, and distribution maps, as well as a table of contents and a glossary, each volume also weaves in a traditional folk story linked to the featured creature. This fusion adds a cross-disciplinary aspect of cultural diversity to the informative content, inspiring further research while aligning with Common Core curricular standards for the middle grades. VERDICT Excellent translations are matched by broad appeal, making this series perfect for any upper elementary or middle school collection.