WHEN MORNING COMES

Naturalist and wildlife watcher Hirschi (Dance With Me, 1995, etc.) celebrates the coming of day in a brief poetic text, with accompanying full-color photographs by Mangelsen. The team, which explored the seasons in previous collaborations: Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter, here describes the activities of animals in the early morning; and in a companion volume When Night Comes (ISBN: 1-56397-766-4), many of the same animals are presented as night falls. In each title the author shows the different ways similar animals adapt to their environment. For example, at daybreak some birds, like the heron and the hawk, hunt for food, while other night-hunting birds, like the owl, settle down to rest until dark. Butterflies, turtles, frogs, and other cold-blooded creatures begin to stir as the sun warms them, while warm-blooded animals, like bears and beavers, head for their dens to take a nap and avoid the heat of the day. The handsome photographs, placed on a glossy white background, show wildlife in natural settings in summer and winter. Night is especially appealing, with many photographs capturing the amber light of nightfall and impressive views of sunset turning sky and water a fiery-red orange. In a brief afterward, the author concludes with a brief afterward with advice for animal-watching. Children will enjoy this glimpse of the wild with foxes, martins, otters, owls, eagles, and bears. (Nonfiction. 5-8)