Nonfiction Monday: Maine Coons: Super Big by Nancy White

Earlier this year, I looked at Lerner's Best Cats Ever series. Now, I'm looking at Bearport's Cat-ographics series. My sample from this series is Maine Coons: Super Big by Nancy White. It begins with a fun story about Baxter, the Maine Coone cat mascot of Maine libraries. Then the book discusses the main points about Maine Coons - their large size, history (nope, not really related to raccoons!) thick fur, and many colors. There are sections on their aloof but gentle personalities, love of play and some of the special issues in taking care of longhaired cats like Maine Coons. The final spread gives some facts about Maine Coon kittens.

Additional information includes "Maine Coons at a glance" with physical characteristics, personality, life span, and more. A glossary, including all the words bolded in the text, a short index, bibliography and further reading, and a link to Bearport's online additional information website, http://www.bearportpublishing.com/Cat-ographies/.

How does this book compare to the Lerner sample of cat books? Bearport's Cat-ographics includes more photographs and less text and doesn't have a section on cat ownership or whether or not a Maine Coon would be a good pet for you. I suspect there's a lot of repetition in the different Lerner titles, since the book I sampled included a large section on general cat care. The Bearport title would, I think, appeal more to younger children with its easier text and plethora of photographs. I wasn't impressed by Bearport's website, which basically contained two links - one to the Cat Fancier's Association and a second to a Maine government website on the Maine Coon as state cat, both of which could have just been included in the book. However, Bearport had a better selection of further reading and bibliography than the Lerner title.

Verdict: If your patrons are frequently looking for cat books with an eye to purchasing an actual cat, Lerner's Best Cats Ever is probably the better series. However, if your patrons, like mine, just like books about different breeds of animals for fun and reports, Bearport's titles are more suitable. Plus, Bearport's prices are better on the budget than Lerner! I already purchased some ASPCA titles on caring for your cat, so all I want are fun books on different breeds, so Bearport is the series for me!

ISBN: 978161772427; Published January 2011 by Bearport; Review copy provided by Bearport; Series purchased for the library.