Reindeer (New True Books) - Softcover

Gr 2-4-Although this book includes a wide variety of information, it is presented in an unorganized and often awkward arrangement. For example, within three pages the coverage jumps from Alaska to hazards to the animals in Finland, and then to Santa Claus in Lapland. Also, the discussion of both reindeer and caribou is intermixed throughout, causing confusion and some errors. The statement that ``The wild reindeer of North America are called caribou'' is misleading. In North America, caribou are wild and reindeer are tame. A photograph is captioned ``The male reindeer shown here has much larger antlers than the female.'' The larger animal is actually a female and the smaller one is a fawn, as determined by the antlers. Finally, female reindeer and caribou keep their antlers until May after fawning, not until March as stated. Lepthien implies that the caribou in Alaska were wiped out by hunters, whereas disease was also responsible for their declining population. Despite these inaccuracies, the full-color photos and large-print text make this a serviceable introduction to the subject.-Roz Goodman, Bering Strait School District Media Center, Unalakleet, AK

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