Catching Air

February 6, 2017
In this addition to the How Nature Works series, Collard (Hopping Ahead of Climate Change) introduces animals that don’t technically fly but glide. Readers learn why some creatures have developed this asset (preventing injury from falling, escaping predators) and the biological characteristics (namely flaps called patagia) that enable them to soar. Photographs of squirrels, frogs, snakes, and other animals in midglide accompany Collard’s direct and informative narrative, as well as sidebars that focus on the physical attributes, habitats, and behaviors of individual species. Details about the history of gliding across millions of years provide scaffolding for readers to understand the mechanisms of evolution (“These animals probably have skeletons and muscles that, over time, could evolve a true flying capability”). It’s an intriguing and focused look at animal adaptation. Ages 6–8.

February 1, 2017
Southeast Asian Draco lizards, North American flying squirrels, and Australian sugar gliders: what do they have in common?They all glide--not fly--with the help of special flaps called patagia. With the help of many stock photos (of varying quality and focus) and some drawings and engravings, the mechanics of the gliding process are explained. The text is clear and speaks of the history of gliding animals from the 125 million-year-old fossils of "the earliest known mammalian glider, Volaticotherium antiquis" to "some astonishing new gliding animals... / ...PEOPLE!" The author includes information about professionally created hang gliders and wingsuits and warns his young readers not to attempt to build their own. Leonardo da Vinci's sepia-toned design for an ornithopter, a gliding machine, illustrates this spread opposite an exciting photo of a person in a red, white, and blue wingsuit. With the round series logo (How Nature Works) used as a design element alongside photos of different sizes and focus inserted in each double-page spread, the layout is sometimes too busy, but some photos are striking. The full-page photo of the Asian Wallace's frog is a wonderful animal portrait, as is the Malaysian Draco lizard. Backmatter includes websites and a bibliography of adult books as well as a glossary. Though some of the individual animals might be found in other titles, bringing them all together as gliders here makes the book worth a look. (Nonfiction. 9-12)

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April 15, 2017
Grades 3-6 While birds, insects, and bats fly, certain earthbound critters can do the next best thing: glide. Among these are certain species of fish, snakes, frogs, and lizards, as well as mammals such as flying squirrels, sugar gliders, and colugos. This informative book explores questions such as what adaptations in the animals' bodies enable them to glide, why gliders throughout the world are forest dwellers, and how gliding helps them to survive. One section looks at the history of human gliding mechanisms, from Leonardo da Vinci's ornithopter design to modern hang gliders and wing suits, a discussion that ends with a strongly worded safety warning for kids. While the book's design emphasizes illustration over text and includes some very small print in sidebars, the color photos are nicely aligned with the text and often riveting. Other illustrations include range maps and archival drawings. The book concludes with recommended resources and a glossary but no index. A respected science writer, Collard offers a well-researched, well-focused, and beautifully illustrated presentation of a topic seldom covered in children's books.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2017
Well designed and illustrated with captivating photos, this volume introduces animals that glide, including rodents, frogs, lizards, and snakes. Most live in forests and gliding helps them move from tree to tree without descending to the ground. The engaging text includes the evolution and adaptations of gliders and a discussion of gliding vs. flying and gliding vs. parachuting. Reading list, websites. Glos.

(Copyright 2017 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)