Just Ducks
(by Nicola Davies/ illus. Salvatore Rubbino, Candlewick $15.99 Score:)

As a kid, going to the park to feed the ducks was a weekly treat. All the stale bread of the week was saved in a special bag that we took to the Bronx Zoo on Sunday morning. This little book might have added much to those trips. Most kids don't have the language that describes all the doings of the ducks. Here, in the middle of the city, on a duck pond, we get up close for a good look at how the ducks eat, preen, dabble, and attract mates. The narrative is augmented with clear factoids that better define the typical actions of Mallards. A nice young science book that will extend what kids can see if feeding the ducks is on your agenda. 4-7

Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Dolphin Baby!
(by Nicola Davies/ illus. Brita Granstrom, Candlewick $15.99 Score:)

Through painterly illustrations and clearly written prose, young readers follow a dolphin baby and its mother from the first breath through the major events of the first six months of life. The simple telling is done in print and extra information is printed in cursive style. Use it as a read aloud or share the reading with young readers who are learning to decode the two very different styles of the written word.

Age: Preschool, Early School Years. Award Year: 2012. Click here to purchase the product on Amazon.com.

Each Living Thing
(by Joanne Ryder/illus. by Ashley Wolff, Harcourt $16 Score:) So often children are curious but fearful of such living things as spiders, snakes, and stinging jellyfish. Wolff's bold illustrations bring them up close as Ryder urges us to appreciate, not fear them. Preachy, but beautiful. 3 & up.

Age: Preschool. Award Year: 2001.

Who Hoots?
(by Katie Davis, Harcourt $14 Score:) A witty companion to the PLATINUM AWARD winning Who Hops? This will be a hit with preschoolers as they answer the questions and learn a little bit more about familiar animals. A hoot! 3 & up.

Age: Preschool. Award Year: 2001.

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?
(by Bill Martin,Jr./illus. by Eric Carle, Holt $13.95 Score:) Carle's bold and brilliant beasts and Martin's simple but rhythmic rhymes make perfect harmony! Young listeners love chiming in on the telling. Also see Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? A beautiful color concept book. 2 & up.

Age: Toddlers,Preschool. Award Year: 1994.

Do Monkey's Tweet?
(by Melanie Walsh, Houghton Mifflin $15 Score:) Do horses bark? Do dogs oink? Older toddlers will giggle smugly at the totally ridiculous questions and gloat over how smart they are because they know the name of the animal that tweets, cheeps, barks, or...whatever, before you turn the page! From the author of Do Pigs Have Stripes? 2 and a half & up. SNAP INFO: Here's a concept book with a sense of humor! Do horses bark? Do dogs oink? Older toddlers will giggle smugly at the totally ridiculous questions and gloat at how smart they are because they know the name of the animal that tweets, cheeps, barks, or...whatever, before you turn the page! From the author of Do Pigs Have Stripes? 2 and a half & up.

Age: Toddlers,Preschool. Award Year: 2000.

Platypus
(by Chris Riddell, Harcourt $15 Score:) Here's a young science book about a Platypus who likes to collect things. One day he brings home a curly shell from the shore. But when he awakes, the shell is gone. Platypus finds it again and once again wakes to find it missing. Next day he rests with his feet in a pool of water when something bites him. Guess who! Platypus apologizes and finds an empty shell as his souvenir from the sea.

Age: Preschool. Award Year: 2002.

Baby Penguin
(by Aubrey Lang/ photos by Wayne Lynch, Fitzhenry & Whiteside $15.95 Score:) Close-up photos and clear prose give young readers a fascinating tour of the world of the king penguin. Lynch's photos capture the transformation of the one-year-old fuzzy brown chick to the familiar black and white bird about to plunge into the sea and find its own food and way. One of a handsome series called Nature Babies. 5-9.

Age: Preschool,Early School Years. Award Year: .

My Pet Hamster
(by Anne Rockwell/ illus. by Bernice Lum, HarperCollins $15.99 Score:) Easy to read or enjoy as a read-aloud, this is another fine example of the informative young scieince series. This one covers everything you ever wanted or needed to know about pet hamsters. Did you know that they need hard food or else their front teeth keep growing?

Age: Preschool,Early School Years. Award Year: 2003.

Face to Face Safari
(by Sally Hewitt/illus. by Chris Gilvan-Cartwright, Abrams Books $14.95 Score:) With a playful rhyme about each of the creatures this is a spectacular pop up book with giant faces of an elephant, lion, giraffe, rhino, hippo and chimpanzee that almost leap off the pages! A memorable novelty book.3 & up.

Age: Preschool. Award Year: 2003.