Short description
With a dramatic first-person narrative and close-up photography that brings kids into the thick of the action, "National Geographic" photographer Haas offers a rare glimpse into the struggles for survival in the African wilderness.
Long description
Told in the first person and illustrated with dramatic photography that brings kids close to the action, African Critters gives readers a glimpse into the life of a wildlife photographer. We are with the author in his jeep, with his camera, and even as he's dressing for bed in the wild. From waiting patiently for leopard cubs to come out of their cave, to play to being charged by elephants who were protecting a new baby, to photographing wild dogs hunting impalas, the stories in this book are both intimate and exciting.
Review
Striking photocollages, most in lush color, illustrate, sometimes problematically, this wildlife photographer's account of adventures in animal preserves in southern Africa. Short chapters describe exciting encounters with leopards, elephants, wild dogs, lions, hyenas, hippos, rhinos and cheetahs, as well as smaller creatures. The first paragraph on each double-page spread begins with a tiny photographic vignette, and the endpapers are composed of a pattern of even smaller photographs of various animals. Learning About boxes add further facts. An excellent index identifies the animals in larger pictures, even if unidentified in the text, but readers will search in vain for labels for some of the smaller images. The digitally enhanced composite photographs show the animals in a variety of poses but can be confusing, as when a hyena and her two cubs appear as a much larger family: With composites, the reader can't tell what is real. In an afterword, the author explains his presentation as artistic license to represent his emotional experience, but it, like the cover montage, may misrepresent the animals' world. (glossary, index, references) (Nonfiction. 7-12) (Kirkus Reviews)