Junior Buddy is an adorable jaguar born at The Belize Zoo that has become one of their star attractions and somewhat of a local celebrity. He loves to perform for the crowds, including doing summersalts More importantly, Junior Buddy is considered an animal diplomat at the zoo and is a critical part of their jaguar education program that involves teaching tons of local school children about the importance of conservation.
I love using animal books in therapy because they are pretty much universally loved by my students. They really enjoyed learning about jaguars yesterday and reading Junior Buddy's story. Great photographs and lots of good information.
The photos really make this one. Because it's a true story, having the photos rather than illustrations really kept the child engaged and looking at smaller details like claws or his belly.
While the photographs are adorable and the book is a reasonable example of a nonfiction narrative, many significant details are saved for an afterword section which is geared at adults and not the least bit kid-friendly.