Wild Cats - Cougars, Bobcats and Lynx. Deborah Hodge. Edited by Valerie Wyatt. Illustrated by Nancy Grey Ogle. Toronto, Ontario: Kids Can Press Ltd. 1996. 32 pp., hard cover, $14.95. ISBN 1-55074-267-1 CIP. Grades preschool - 4 / Ages 4 - 10. Review by Joan Payzant. ****/4

excerpt:

"Wild cats try to live far away from people. But people move into wild areas and disturb the home ranges of wild cats.

People clear forests to build new houses and roads, so the wild animals who live there must move. The deer move to find food, so the cougars must follow. The lynx must follow the snowshoe hare. If there is no place to go, the animals die.

As wild areas get smaller, there are fewer places for wild cats to live."

This is an attractive book on a subject that will fascinate many children. As a teacher/librarian I found that non-fiction picture books were extremely popular with boys in their early school years. Wild Cats falls into this category.

Every page is generously illustrated with text in large clear type fitted around the pictures. The table of contents lists a different subject for each two facing pages, i.e. Wild cats, Kinds of wild cats, Where wild cats live, and so on. Most of the two-page spreads have a box in the top right-hand corner which contains a "Wild Cat Fact" such as: "Wild cats don't chew their meat. They slice off pieces with their sharp teeth and swallow them whole."

The differences among cougars, bobcats and lynxes are clearly explained by text and illustrations. The book also contains illustrations of wild cats of the world, as opposed to previously discussed North American wild cats. It concludes with a glossary and detailed index.

Other books in this Kids Can Press Wildlife Series are: Bears, Whales, and Wild Dogs, with others promised for the future.

Highly Recommended

Joan Payzant is a retired teacher/librarian living in Dartmouth, N.S.

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Copyright © 1996 the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364