Mammalabilia (by Douglas Florian)

Douglas Florian's paintings -- done on primed brown paper bags -- energize the mammals, and his words cleverly describe their idiosyncrasies. The hippo who "eats and eats and eats and eats" has a table and a place setting inside his mouth. With the text "Madagascar leaping lemurs breeze through trees without breaking femurs," three gleeful primates fly off branches as crutches float around them.

For one 5-year-old reader, MAMMALIBILIA was a good introduction to animals he hadn't heard of before, and the silly verses encouraged him to remember some of the animals' characteristics, such as the lynx's sought-after coat and the tapir's hefty head. Florian presents wonderful examples of how cool words can be.