WHO LIVES IN AN ALLIGATOR HOLE?

Rockwell’s latest Let’s Read and Find Out introduces readers to alligators and the role they play in their habitat. While she also addresses the positive and negative ways people have had an impact on the alligator population over the years, her focus is on alligator holes—places where alligators have thrashed through the damp muck overlying a limestone pit, which then fills with underground water. In these watering holes, dormant fish and insects lay their eggs, attracting the animals that feed on them. Birds drop the seeds that grow to provide food and shelter for even more. By changing the habitat for its own use, the alligator has helped other species survive, so it’s called a keystone species. A non-reading child would be able to get much of the text’s information from Lizzy Rockwell’s pictures alone. Her lifelike (and labeled) illustrations could be used to identify animals in the wild. A follow-up activity demonstrates how alligator holes provide water in the dry season. Finally, a list of gator facts is provided. A good introduction to alligators, reptiles and endangered species. (Nonfiction. 5-9)