Spilsbury, Louise.
OSTRICH
New York : Heinemann, 2011
IL K-3, RL 3.0
ISBN 1432947303

Can you guess which creature has a small head but eyes as big as baseballs and can run twice as fast a person? If you thought an ostrich, you are so very right. The ostrich is the largest bird in the world and has wings, but cannot fly. Where can we find these big birds? Their home is in parts of central and southern Africa, where they mostly live in land covered with grasses. They eat these grasses, other plants, and insects. As strange as it sounds, they also eat sand and little stones to help them grind their food. Did you know that female ostriches lay their eggs together in a shared nest and the eggs are as large as medium sized melons? The females keep the eggs warm and safe during the day and the males take care of them at night. Life in these African grasslands can be dangerous. There are animals which hunt ostriches, such as cheetahs, lions, leopard, wild dogs, and hyenas. How do they protect themselves from such predators? Ostriches hold their heads up high to spot trouble, and if they see danger, they run away or kick the predators with their strong legs. You can discover more amazing facts about these huge birds in this interesting book.  (May Harn Liu, may@mailbox.sc.edu, librarian)

			Readers (Elementary)