Animals and Their Mates: How Animals Attract, Fight for and Protect Each Other

Martha Lamon is a freelance writer and researcher based in Huntsville,
Ontario.

Animal Defenses, Animal Senses, Animals at Work, Animals Hibernating,
Animal Talk, Animals Eating, Animals and Their Young, and Animals in
Motion are the first eight volumes in this excellent nature series. The
books are filled with instructive, realistic illustrations (to help
young readers understand the concepts presented), informative text boxes
containing interesting facts (that help to sustain the reader’s
interest), and easy-to-do, fun experiments (providing a hands-on
approach to learning).

Animals and Their Mates informs children about the extraordinary ways
animals behave when it comes to attracting, fighting for, or protecting
a mate. Readers will learn about how animals use all five senses to
attract a mate, their performance rituals, the mating season, and mating
places (for example, the red-eyed tree frog mates on a leaf overhanging
water; when the tadpoles hatch, they fall into the water below, where
they grow into frogs).

Animals gather in herds, flocks, packs, pods, gaggles, schools, and
other groups. Animal Groups looks at the advantages some animals gain by
living in groups. These include help with grooming, finding a mate,
caring for offspring, and enhanced defence and protection.

Each double-page spread introduces a new concept. Each concept is
listed in the index, which also includes species names. The volumes are
attractively designed, with lots of colour and detail. Both books are
highly recommended.