World Above the Clouds: A Story of a Himalayan Ecosystem - Hardcover

Ann Nagda is a travel buff as well as an animal lover and conservationist. Her interests have taken her around the world, including a visit to the Woolong Preserve. Her fiction and nonfiction pieces have been published in numerous newspapers and children's magazines. Currently a docent at the Denver Zoo, Ann also volunteers at the Boulder Police Department. She lives in Boulder, Colorado with her husband, two children and a cat named Tigger.

K-Gr 2-Readers follow an animal through its waking time, seeing the flora and fauna that are part of its habitat and watching its daily activity until it goes to sleep. In Koala, children are introduced to a joey as he makes his first, tentative forays away from his mother. In Nagda's book, a two-year-old snow leopard has recently left her mother and searches for food. Handsome realistic illustrations share equal prominence with the texts and help readers visualize the ecosystem about which they are reading. A double-page foldout spread at the end of each book identifies the plants and animals that have been introduced. Both authors write clearly and the "day in the life of" pattern makes the narratives enjoyable as well as informative. McKinnon uses a colorful palette in his vivid illustrations of the eucalyptus forest and its denizens. Kratter employs earth tones and subdued colors in his pictures of the Himalayan mountainside. His art makes it easy to see how the snow leopard's coat provides camouflage. While there is no dearth of material about animal habitats, these titles will be welcomed as solid additions to science collections.

Louise L. Sherman, formerly at Anna C. Scott School, Leonia, NJ

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