I judged this book by its cover, really I did. With that big close-up photo of that furry face, I assumed that this would be a pop-sci book directed more at children, in contrast to the Natural History of Raccoons by Dorcas MacClintock, which I read a few months back and appeared (as indeed it was) to be a more scientific text. And I was wrong - Zeveloff's book is just as solidly scientific, and it is certainly not directed at children. Both books, if I'm honest, took a fair amount of wading through, regardless of the fact that they are both relatively short. I have to give MacClintock the edge, however.

Zeveloff's book can be a bit dry in places - the chapter on the two dozen odd subspecies of raccoons nearly put me to sleep, as there is only so often you can describe various shades of grey coats without losing me entirely. Credit where it's due, though - the chapter on the evolution of the species was particularly interesting, and the chapter "Living Arrangements" was really readable and my favourite of the bunch. If I hadn't read the MacClintock first I might have given this four stars, but it lacks the appealing anecdotes of the former, and it lacks the gorgeous illustrations. Don't get me wrong - Zeveloff's raccoon book also has a handful of nice illustrations, but they are not nearly so frequent, and they are supplemented by a number of not especially clear photographs.

I liked it, I did, but I think I am raccooned out at this point, and if I had to choose one of these two books to read again it would be the other one. Mostly, I admit, for the pictures.