Classic Animal Tracks

I don't want to ruin anyone's weekend plans here, but licking toads can damage your health. That's correct. Some people, apparently, lick the skins of some species of toads for a "high." I discovered this interesting factoid while watching Classic Animal Tracks, a collection of 29 short films combining stunning BBC wildlife footage and classic rock 'n roll tunes. The "Frogs and Toads" piece was, appropriately, cued to "Jeepers Creepers" by the Mills Brothers. Other felicitous pairings include: "Emperor Penguin" (Ben E. King's "Stand By Me"), "Army Ant" (Tears for Fears' "Everybody Wants to Rule the World"), "Giraffe" (the Drifters' "Up on the Roof"), and "Killer Whale" (Thin Lizzy's "The Boys are Back in Town"). Throughout each standalone segment, brief "text-bites" are superimposed onscreen, such as, "a hunting ground 300 miles across," "gorging on 100 lbs. of meat," and "sprinting at 60 miles an hour" for "Lion." Anyone who's familiar with leonine habits knows that the lion does not in fact sprint at "60 miles an hour," but rather less than 40 m.p.h., which is one of the problems of this visually gorgeous and highly entertaining video: occasional mistakes crop up due to inaccurate labelings for metric system measurements. In addition, the "text-bites," while fleshed out a bit in the accompanying study guide, tend towards oversimplification of environmental issues, and--for general viewers--the full credits separating each of the 29 films is rather irritating. Even so, in the capable hands of a good elementary school instructor, Classic Animal Tracks will provide some interesting animal facts for kids and help foster a more humane perspective towards all creatures great and small. Recommended, particularly for elementary school libraries. Aud: E, I, P. (R. Pitman)