Why Do I Sing?: Animal Songs of the Pacific Northwest

PreS-Gr 1—Singing is a fanciful concept when applied to some of the 14 animals of air, water, field, and forest introduced in this poetic compendium. Though they're depicted realistically in their natural settings, descriptions of their behavior range from realistic to suggestive or imaginative. "Why do I sing in a big twilight chorus/That fills up the wetlands and pastures and forests?/A sure sign of spring and romance in the bogs,/The riotous ribbits of Pacific Tree Frogs." Highlighting the meadowlark, the spotted owl, the red-winged blackbird, and the tundra swan, the quatrains set on double-page landscapes also touch on fin whales, Arctic wolves, honeybees, and conclude with children by an evening campsite. The loon sings "in a wild, eerie cry," and the Roosevelt bull elk has "a strange, wild call" that "rises high and bugles a challenge far and wide." The western rattlesnakes make little noise—"Seldom using their rattles, they would rather just lie still." Some animals, such as the starfish, might be singing "a song we can't know." The rhyme scheme moves along nicely in terms sometimes more meaningful to adult readers than to youngsters, but the lovely scenes and animal portraits will be much enjoyed by those young children who like to talk their way through picture books. Gabriel's luscious pastel work on heavily textured paper will surely invite touching and some lingering viewing.—Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston