A Walk Up the Mountain (First Facts Series)

Kindergarten-Grade 2-- Plant and animal life of seashore and mountain regions are explored in these two series entries. Those familiar with Arnold's excellent books for older readers will be disappointed. The content is cursory, covering too much material in general and providing little substantive information. An attempt to immerse and involve young readers in specific habitats is limited by oversimplification. Stilted narratives use such opening sentences as, "Up, up, up!," and interject questions such as, "Where are we?," answered by, "We're at the seashore." Double-page, full-color watercolor illustrations often overwhelm the slight texts. Each book contains a map of continents showing a representative animal of a specific region, but they include few details and no explanation of color coding. The final page is a review "quiz" reminiscent of chapter tests in textbooks. A Walk Up the Mountain does establish various types of flora and fauna at different elevations, but jumps abruptly from topic to topic. Both books establish a sense of place in the natural world, but curious young readers deserve more information than Arnold provides. --Diane Nunn, Richard E. Byrd Elementary School, Glen Rock, NJ
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