From School Library Journal Grade 2-4 Casey has combined a spare， accurate text with some excellent color photos to produce a good introduction to the black-tailed prairie dog (despite one reference to ``black or white'' tails， the lifestyle depicted is not that of the less social white-tailed prairie dog). Daily life and communal living are briefly described， as is the development of the young. The brief text is printed in a large， bold typeface. The statement， ``These prairie dogs are used to people and are not afraid，'' which captions a photo of children hand-feeding a prairie dog， may be quite true， but it is not a good idea for books to promote handling prairie dogs or any other so-called ``tame'' animal， as they can deliver a nasty bite if startled or angered. Both Scott's Little Dogs of the Prairie (Putnam， 1977; o.p.) and Chace's Wonders of Prairie Dogs (Dodd， 1976; o.p.) are more informative， but are for older readers. All in all， this is a pleasant and approachable book about an animal fast disappearing from our Western plains. Patricia Manning， Eastchester Public Library， N.Y.Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information， Inc. Card catalog description Simple text and photographs introduce the physical characteristics， habits， and natural environment of the prairie dog， a cousin of the squirrel.