Every great detective has to start somewhere! This emerging reader series uses cumulative clues and repetition of key words to help curious kids guess which _animal the author is thinking of. Every time a new clue is introduced, it is added to the ТcluesУ tracker on the bottom of the text page to help readers remember the growing list. Each clue is immediately followed by the author admitting which animal is out of the running with a response like ТBut it is not a Velociraptor!У in IХm Thinking of a Dinosaur. The common pets of dogs, cats, and fish are eschewed for an adorable coiled green snake in IХm _Thinking of a House Pet. _Photos (or in the case of dinosaurs, computer-generated art) offer context clues for some of the more advanced words that are trickier to decode. Comparison charts at the end help _readers see how the included animals are the same and different. With no more than two _sentences on a page, these readers are fun and fantastic. VERDICT Highly _recommended for all school and _public libraries.