A curious menagerie: Of herds, flocks, leaps, gaggles, scurries, and more! by Carin Berger

Greenwillow Books, 2019, ISBN: 9780062644572. 40pp., hbk.
We've all heard of a herd of cows and a flock of sheep, but what is a group of giraffes called? A murder of crows is a common trivia answer, but what about a mischief of mice? Exploring collective nouns is always fun and in this book the ringmaster and the monkey investigate 64 of them opening up a menagerie of creatures for little ones to learn and perhaps wonder about and perhaps research their validity. A parliament of owls? Really? That could either be flattering to some parliaments or insulting to some owls!
Berger has used her skills of making cut-paper collages to create fascinating illustrations and tying the collection together with the ringmaster and the monkey makes it a bit more engaging than the usual word book, especially the final pages! One that will encourage small groups to share and delight in, and perhaps try to make up their own. Would a group of koalas be called a cuddle? Or a group of cockatoos a squawk?
Barbara Braxton