About the Author

Kate Sheppard went to the same art college as David Hockney. She has illustrated well over 100 volumes. The quirkier the book, the more fun Kate has with the drawings.

Reviews

PreS-The first book offers six opportunities for youngsters to identify animals based on specific traits, such as "I spy an animal that lives in a shell." Each challenge is announced inside an outline of a magnifying glass. Readers then must scour the adjoining page for the creature that matches the description. The final spread shows all of the animals displaying their aforementioned qualities. Animal 123 guides readers in counting from 1 to 10 and then back again. Rabbit drops the birthday card he is carrying when he is startled by a fox. As he evades the predator, the rhyming text counts all of the animals that try to alert him to the card's location. Once he reaches his friends, he realizes that he is missing his card. While the text counts backward, the animals help him retrace his steps to find it. Both board books have padded covers and rounded corners. The mixed-media artwork features ink and watercolor animals frolicking over photographs of grass and dirt atop a white background. These sturdy books are great selections for little hands.-Laura Butler, Mount Laurel Library, NJ Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.