Amazing Animals: The Remarkable Things That Creatures Do

Hancock and Ruurs use subjects like reproduction, migration, navigation, hunting, and defense to organize the diverse subjects in their introduction to animal behavior. A discussion on home building features the North American beaver, "an architect and engineer," while a section about diet includes profiles of the giant tortoise (which devours the unpopular prickly pear cactus) and the coconut crab, with its coconut-cracking pincers. Though only a few lines are devoted to each animal, the detailed paintings and surprising details should captivate readers for whom an ideal Saturday would be spent touring a natural history museum. Ages 6%E2%80%939. (Mar.)