Spots and Speed: Cheetahs by Marie Brandle

Meet the Cheetah! Clearly a cat, but not much like the homey kitty cat most kids know, this big cat is a stunner. With its exotic lined face, sleek spotted coat, long legs, long, long tail for balance, and the long claws that help it "scratch off" for a swift start, this "big cat" is clearly built for speed! Indeed, this wild cat is the fastest land animal on earth

COUNT TO THREE.

IN THAT TIME A CHEETAH RUNS AS FAST AS A CAR!

Sharp-eyed and camouflaged perfectly for its home in the grasslands of Africa and Asia, this is a cat who hunts, not just for for mice, but for much bigger animals, some as big as a horse, such as the zebra and wildebeest. Like other big cats they are taught by their mothers, who stay with them for nearly two years, until they learn to hunt and live on the savannahs on their own.

Marie Brandle's brand-new Cheetahs (Bullfrog Books: Big Cats, 2021), illustrated in sharp spot-art focus and written in short pithy sentences that describe the first part of the life cycle of one of Africa's signature wild animals, this is a solid factual introduction to wildlife books for the early primary grades. With all the accouterments of a good non-fiction book--table of contents, striking but factually-focused chapters, a picture glossary, index, and simple bibliography sections--this one a a great introduction, in an almost irresistible package, just right for primary grade scholars.

Says School Library Journal, "Fine choice for new readers and younger browsers."