Grrr! A Book About Big Cats by Melvin & Gilda Berger

Grrr! A Book About Big Cats by Melvin & Gilda Berger (32 pages; 1 book) #27

Berger, Melvin and Gilda Berger (2003). A Book About Big Cats. New York: NY: Scholastic, Inc.

Awards: No awards given.

Grade Level: K-5 grades

Author Credibility: This husband and wife team researches each topic before writing a book. There are no details on how they do their research or how they choose their topics. It is a beautifully written photographic essay.

Summary/Response: This book is divided into chapters, but no table of context. There are five groups of big cats. These groups include lions, tigers, leopards, cheetahs, and jaguars. The lion is the loudest of the big cats. Most lions live in Africa and they are the only big cat that lives in a group called a pride. Tigers are the biggest of the big cats. They only live in Asia and are not afraid of water unlike most cats. Tigers will often swim for pleasure. Leopards are excellent climbers. After killing its prey, a leopard will drag it up into a tree to keep other animals from stealing it. Cheetahs are the fastest of the big cats. They can run as fast as 70 mph. The one difference between a cheetah and other cats is a cheetah cannot pull its claws in. Jaguars are the strongest of the big cats. It is said that nothing will fight a jaguar. It is slightly larger than a leopard. It has spots that are rings with black dots in them.

National Standards: Language: Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
Science: Structure and function in living systems, Reproduction and heredity, Regulation and behavior, Populations and ecosystems, Diversity and adaptations of organisms
Illustrations: Beautiful color photographs, some that were full page or two-page spread.

Access Features: Index

Related Texts: Amazing Tigers by Sarah L. Thompson, Jaguars (Animals of the Rainforest) by Pat Lalley, Cheetahs by Luke Hunter

Classroom Use: I would use this in my science library.