Australia's Cane Toads

Invasive species can do an amazing amount of damage, and readers will learn exactly what this amounts to in this series. Each species is charged with a long list of crimes that includes destroying flora and fauna, ravaging crops, and seriously injuring local residents. The crisp, colorful digital photographs graphically capture the species and their destructive behaviors. Students looking for gross-out value will love the photos of dissected pythons and cane toads feasting on kangaroo carcasses. Each book is divided into small chapters and includes a further reading section. Glossary. Index. Table of Contents. Recommended.

Covering multiple aspects of a fascinating topic, each title in this excellent set examines a single invasive species. Each selection opens with a current example of the animal’s impact and then traces the history of its arrival and provides reasons for its proliferation. The writing is lively and direct and makes good use of specific, intriguing facts, such as the brown tree snake’s effect on Guam’s electricity. Readers will appreciate learning about efforts being made to deal with the problem, such as traps to reduce the feral pig population. Among the other strong features are frequent quotes from scientists in the field. Page layouts include a well-chosen mixture of large photographs and spot images. One spread, for instance, demonstrates the diversity of the cane toad’s diet using separate photos of the creatures feasting on a smaller toad, pet food, and a kangaroo carcass. VERDICT Lively, engaging presentations on specific species and on the general concept.