This is a fine starter series for kids interested in different animals. In Rodents: From Mice to Muskrats we return for a third experience with the wonderful and interesting Animals in Order series. What I like a great deal about this is that it takes time at the beginning of the book to look at (briefly) what makes an animal a rodent, specifically getting into what traits exactly make a rodent. The book then goes into the "order" of living things which details the kingdom, phylum and class , order, family and species (with a handy visual chart for reference, great for younger kids, so they can SEE how it works rather than just read it or have it read to them). This is one of the better features of this series. Next the text goes specifically into where Rodents fit into animal kingdom, breaking it down (in words and pictures again) to kingdom (animal), phylum (chordate), class (mammal) and order (Rodent).

The book also talks a bit about where rodents of all types and sizes fit into food chain and in habitats including fields and gardens; your house; the woods; and in streams, ponds and marshes. Rodents: From Mice to Muskrats goes from there into an overview of fourteen species complete with full page, color photographs for each one (our boy loved this best), which were quiet nice. This section includes Family, Common Example, Genus and Species and Size for each rodent discussed...from the tiny (2-4 inches) Old World Mice from Europe (and now quite common in North America) to the larger Species like Beavers (35-50 inches). Each animal is given one full page for written description and one full page color photo...excellent for bringing the animal to life for the readers!

Overall, a fantastic way to introduce various types of bats to your curious young reader! What you get in Rodents: From Mice to Muskrats is an excellent overview of all types of Rodents. My only complaint is that while the book gives many tips on catching a glimpse and/or studying these animals...nothing at all is discussed about what diseases the commonly carry or any danger of attack...and rodents can be quite viscous, other than that solid information that parents can temper with either direct discussion of the "negative" contributions of rodents to society or with additional reading that does point out this same information. As always with this series, I was pleased to find that at the end of the book the author/publisher also included a short recommended reading list and some really great web pages to do more research on...the kids in particular LOVED this! ( )