Lion by Suzi Eszterhas

Series: Eye of the wild. Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2012. ISBN 978 1 84780 311 5.
Brown bear by Suzi Eszterhas
Series: Eye of the wild. Frances Lincoln Children's Books, 2012. ISBN 978 1 84780 308 5.
(Ages: 6+) Recommended. Non fiction. These beautifully photographed books of animals in their habitat will find a ready parade of readers wanting to add to their knowledge of animals in the wild from birth to maturity. There are four in the series, Brown bear, Lion, Gorilla and Cheetah, and the two I have for review are outstanding. Large clear photographs are augmented by paragraphs of information in large clear font on each page, while at the end of each book is a page of information.
In Lion, the first few pages show the cub when it is born, struggling to open her eyes and crawl. We are told she will be kept in the den for two months until old enough to go out and see the world. At six months she will stop drinking milk from her mother and must start eating meat, and when she turns one year old, the time has come to hunt alongside the others in the pride. At each section of her life's journey, the blend of photos and words gives a remarkable view of the animal and its place within its community.
Brown bear too, shows the bear from its time as a cub to a grown animal. The text details its life as a cub, when as part of a pair, they are raised by mother in a den, only venturing out when about five months old. They will stay with their mother until about two, when they will leave to strike out on their own, complete with all the survival skills she has taught them.
Multi award winning photographer, Suzi Eszterhas, lets her talents speak for themselves in this amazing series of books which will find a home on library shelves, picked up readily by inquisitive readers, fascinated by the detail and information given about these endangered species.
Fran Knight