A Gaggle of Geese: The Collective Names of the Animal Kingdom

An amusing introduction to an aspect of the English language reveals the colorful and descriptive nouns used to refer to various groups of animals, from a mob of kangaroos to a crash of rhinoceri.\nFrom School Library Journal\nPreSchool-Grade 2?Vibrant, almost fluorescent full-page illustrations present the collective names of 26 animals. One phrase per page flows in a rhyming pattern: "... A knot of toads scrambling; A rookery of penguins stooping; A drove of pigs ambling; A flight of butterflies swooping." The animals themselves are shown rising from the more subdued backgrounds and are not necessarily true in color to their real-live counterparts: zebras have red, black, and pink stripes; leopards sport turquoise and red spots, etc. At first, this bit of artistic license is a little jarring, but it makes for quite a dramatic presentation. Size considerations are not taken into account and some of the animals will be hard to identify; the bears look more like weasels, the blue squirrels like rats. Appended notes give background on the origin of the collective names and brief information about each animal. A striking, although additional, browsing book.?Beth Irish, Orange Public Library, CA
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.