In The Wildlife Gardener's Guide, Janet Marinelli strives for a book that will stand out from the many already available on the subject of attracting butterflies, birds, bats and bees to our back yards. She emphasizes specifics over generalities in 10 chapters, most providing step-by-step instructions adaptable to either new or established gardens.

Birds are Ms. Marinelli's primary interest. To attract birds, she explains, it is best to imitate the vertical layering typical of avian habitats. When foraging, perching or nesting, birds use various strata, such as tree canopies, understory plants, low-to-the-ground shrubs and the ground itself.

The laidback gardener will likely welcome Ms. Marinelli's advice about the ground layer. "Leave lots of leaf litter under trees and shrubs for ground-feeding birds," she advises. "It's a lot friendlier to wildlife than the typical suburban lawn."

Once the avian crews begin to arrive, there will be other questions the gardener will need to answer, such as: Are birdfeeders helpful or hurtful, and are birdbaths dangerous if the water is too deep or not refreshed daily? How should both be used in winter?

And what about birdhouses? How big should they be and in what direction should they face?

Ms. Marinelli's answers are short and sweet, followed by a page on five feeders every yard should have and another page on five foods for our feathered friends.

The time and labor saved by ignoring leaf litter might be spent building bird-smart flower borders. Ms. Marinelli provides illustrated instructions on designing various kinds of bird-enticing borders, including a prairie version.

If you garden in containers, Ms. Marinelli devotes a chapter to window boxes, hanging pots and patio planters. Of course, container plants can also be strategically placed in the garden in patterns pleasing to animals and humans alike.

If you prefer action a bit more than aesthetics, Ms. Marinelli offers 10 steps to a predator-friendly garden. This is a habitat – coneflowers, sunflowers, coreopsis and goldenrod – for "gardeners' best friends," such as ladybugs, tiger beetles, lacewings, syrphid flies and a variety of parasitic wasps.

Even so, The Wildlife Gardener's Guide excellently achieves Ms. Marinelli's goal. It is a beautifully illustrated how-to handbook with an enormous amount of useful information handsomely packed into relatively few pages. And the price is dirt cheap.

The Wildlife

Gardener's Guide

Janet Marinelli

(Brooklyn Botanic Garden,

$9.95)