i am a dolphin by barbara todd, illustrations by helen taylor

this second title in new holland's "i am a ... " series introduces a much-loved branch of the mammal class. the basic aspects of habitat, hunting, social behaviour, breeding and relations with humans are covered at an easy-to-grasp level, and the simple rhyming text helps young readers absorb the facts.

while the overall content is global, matching the cosmopolitan distribution of dolphins, the species shown in the illustrations and photos are primarily those found around new zealand - the dusky, bottlenose, hector's, maui, orca and others.

this new series for the very young (4-6) is a first introduction to wildlife, presented in simple and catchy rhyming verses and illustrated both with cartoon characters and documentary photographs.