Baby Ground Squirrel ANNOTATION
Winter is barely over when the baby ground squirrels (also known as the prairie gopher) are born. At first completely dependent on their mother, the little ones will grow up quickly. By midsummer their parents will disappear underground again to snooze the rest of the season away. And now the young ones face the world alone, as they fatten themselves up for the long winter ahead.
FROM THE CRITICS
Children's Literature - Nicole Peterson
Baby ground squirrels have many secrets and this book has captured them. The photographs are phenomenal. They show the life of the ground squirrel (which are sometimes called gophers) from the first hours when they are the size of a thumb, and called "pinkies," through adulthood. The author and photographer of this book (a husband and wife team) spent three years observing a family of baby squirrels that lived near their home. They were able to observe and take pictures of the squirrels through a small tent that they call a blind, so that the squirrels had absolutely no idea they were being watched. Young children can look at the pictures while their parents or teachers read the book. Older children will be able to read the book by themselves and enjoy looking at the way the text relates to the pictures. 2004, Fitzhenry and Whiteside, Ages 8 to 12.
School Library Journal
Gr 1-3-In the first title, Lang describes a female ground squirrel as she gives birth to five "pinkies" while tucked into a burrow during the winter and elaborates on the pups' growth into independent animals. For three years Lang and Lynch observed a ground squirrel colony's habits and photographed their subjects. The amazing full-color pictures clearly chronicle the youngsters' development on the Western Canadian prairie. The second book features great horned owls observed from a blind and similarly photographed, starting from the hatch of three owlets to the time when they are able to live independently. The roles of both parents and the chicks' activities and needs are brought into close focus and shown in the brilliant photos. Ending with a series of "Did You Know?" facts about the animals, these attractive and informative titles are useful additions.-Nancy Call, Santa Cruz Public Libraries, Aptos, CA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.
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