I judge books by their covers all the time, and this one caught my eye immediately: the mother duck scanning the water nervously while she shields her oblivious ducklings from the predatory mother alligator floating across the way. Who could resist something that looks like a seedy '50s pulp fiction cover remixed with Wild America? The lush acrylic illustrations and gently repetitive text about bayou babies and the lessons their mothers teach them have a wonderful immediacy. Clever layouts ensure that the raccoon family featured in one section of the book appears in the background of the next several pages about baby turtles, who in turn quickly make friends with some fluffy ducklings a few pages later.
Older children will sense the danger these other creatures pose; while younger ones, like my nineteen-month-old daughter, will just love identifying all the animals.— Sophie Brookover
