POISON DART FROGS

Dewey (Rattlesnake Dance, 1997, etc.) introduces a uniquely fascinating rain forest creature: leggy, button-eyed, innocuously tiny, rainbow-hued creatures that are deadly to eat, to taste, and sometimes even to touch. Their very names are evocative, from the phantasmal poison dart frog, the splendid poison dart frog, and the bright yellow terrible (or golden) poison dart frog, to the demonic poison dart frog. Of the more than 100 varieties, Dewey depicts about 20 in precisely detailed colored-pencil scenes, taking the diminutive amphibians through their life and reproductive cycles, and showing also how traditional human hunters (she properly notes that many now use guns) use them to poison blowgun darts. Both casual browsers and budding naturalists will find this primer irresistible. (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-9)