Caribbean Animals

Nobody does fur better than Alan Baker, and he gets plenty of chances here in this charming alphabetical thesaurus of – er – Caribbean animals, from Agouti to Zandoli at a rate of one species per (un-numbered) page, each one being the subject of a wall-worthy painting from Baker. All are observed from his tree-house by a cheerful boy called Ned (rhymes with Zed, see) and a mouse who, during the unfolding of the scenario, builds his own tree-house. Many of the creatures will be familiar to British readers (bumble bee, rabbit, spider); others are more exotic – kiskadee, quail and x-ray fish (the alpha-zoologist’s xylophone). The informative accuracy of Baker’s pictures is reinforced by a zoological appendix containing further information about the stars of the show – and show it is – very pleasing and ideal for sharing. Just one minor quibble – N for Nanny Goat?