The Life Cycle of a Raccoon

Sandy Campbell is a reference librarian in the Science and Technology Library at the University of Alberta.

These are two of a dozen books in Crabtree Publishing’s Life Cycle
Series. Each volume describes the animals’ life cycle in some detail.
The text is accompanied by colourful illustrations and high-quality
stock photographs. Many of the photographs (especially the close-ups in
the snake book) are exceptional.

The text covers birth or hatching, growth, habitat and food,
reproduction, and predators. The volumes conclude with sections entitled
“Helping Raccoons” and “Helping Snakes,” respectively.
“Helping Snakes” delivers a conservation message, while “Helping
Raccoons” points out how to help these prolific urban pests to stay
out of garbage.

The reading level in both books is appropriate to upper-elementary
students. Difficult words in the text appear in bold type; those that
aren’t explained in the text are defined in a glossary. The design of
the books is very attractive, with photos being cut to irregular
polygons and often trimmed so that the animal seems to come out of the
photograph. Dark-coloured borders and irregular pastel polygons in the
background add to the eye-pleasing appearance.

Both of the books contain adequate information to support a student
researching an animal for a school project. Recommended.