LITTLE ELEPHANT'S WALK

The 1988 Greenaway winner (Crafty Chameleon), who is noted for striking watercolors illustrating animal fables, surveys African animals as seen by Little Elephant while he roams the plains and forests with his mother. The selection is unusually inclusive—39 species of mammals, birds, and reptiles (plus a few insects) are presented in a sequence that grows naturally from the elephants' exploration of their own habitat. The simple text describes for each a typical activity that is also pictured (``the python...likes to lie out in the hot sun''). In the handsome watercolor art, the animals are slightly simplified; the result is appealing, with images that capture the essence of the animals yet are more easily read than photos; backgrounds are suggested in a more impressionistic style. Classified as fiction, but less a story than an excellent introduction to African wildlife. (Picture book. 3-8)