One Tiger Growls: A Counting Book of Animal Sounds

This cacophony of animal sounds covers turf from the South American mountaintops to the African plains, from the exotic wilds to suburban backyards. Beginning with one tiger's growl and ending with 20 frogs' ""ribbit-ribbit,"" each spread includes a phonetic spelling of the animal sound along with a brief paragraph on the habits and habitats of each creature. While youngsters busily count crows and hee-haw like donkeys, they may also pick up a few facts: ""Mice chew wood and walls... to trim their teeth""; llamas spit when they're angry. Most of the details about the more popular animals will be well known even to youngest readers, though they may enjoy mimicking the rooster, owl, coyote, snake, hyena and gorilla, among others. Needham depicts the animals with cold, textbook-like accuracy in their natural habitats (even the kittens look wooden). The design reinforces the feeling of a lesson, with the triple agenda of learning numbers, facts and animal sounds laid out in drab olive browns and mustard yellows. Ages 3-8. (Feb.)