bethmitcham's review
4.0
This is a gallery of animal pictures and facts, with giant pages and different formats varying from a focus on a single animal to a gallery of animals sharing some feature. There's no real through line, though. It would be good for small kids to page through on their own, or as a book to read with an animal lover who is too young for much words but can enjoy the pictures.
silelda's review
3.0
*Free book for an honest review.
The format reminded me of the magazines I used to read in waiting rooms, but with much better pictures. This book would be a delight to read with your kids or to give to a kid who wonders what's so great about science. Gross animals are so interesting and easily capture the imagination. The funniest part, for me, was looking at some animals and thinking "so that's where Pokemon got the idea" and I've never been a Pokemon fan.
If you're looking for a book to entertain your kids and you're okay with kinda large pictures of kinda large arachnids, bugs, creatures from the depths of the oceans, etc. I think you'll enjoy this book. It's a great way to introduce young readers to creatures than excite imaginations. To show them that strangeness, grossness, and coolness and be completely natural occurrences, and completely subjective to human standards. It's also a good book to introduce kids to the concepts of conservation. Many animals in this book are on, or close to being on, the endangered species list.
The format reminded me of the magazines I used to read in waiting rooms, but with much better pictures. This book would be a delight to read with your kids or to give to a kid who wonders what's so great about science. Gross animals are so interesting and easily capture the imagination. The funniest part, for me, was looking at some animals and thinking "so that's where Pokemon got the idea" and I've never been a Pokemon fan.
If you're looking for a book to entertain your kids and you're okay with kinda large pictures of kinda large arachnids, bugs, creatures from the depths of the oceans, etc. I think you'll enjoy this book. It's a great way to introduce young readers to creatures than excite imaginations. To show them that strangeness, grossness, and coolness and be completely natural occurrences, and completely subjective to human standards. It's also a good book to introduce kids to the concepts of conservation. Many animals in this book are on, or close to being on, the endangered species list.
lilyn_g's review
5.0
This was a great book to review with the kiddo. Both of us "oohed", "aahed" and"Eewwwwed" our way through it. Cool pictures, fun facts, and a layout that keeps the reader constantly interested. While it definitely has an educational bent, with its Creature Features section and other things, it never comes across as such. Instead it's the type of book that informs while it amuses. It's also great for enhancing with youtube videos. We thought the Riflebird and Batfish sounded so cool we had to look them up! We were also curious enough to want to know more about the Lowland Streaked Tenrec doing stridulation. I was completely grossed out, she was completely fascinated.
The book is laid out in 4 separate sections, but many of the animals in it could easily go in more than one.
Strange: This is the section that could truly fit most of the animals within it. Our favorite Featured Creature was the star-nosed mole, though the Proboscis Monkey was a closer runner up. The Common Potoo had us in stitches, and we simply had to find out more about this strange looking bird! The Frilled Shark had the potential to induce nightmares. Creature Collection: Birds
Unusual: Probably our least favorite section, but still filled with lots of pictures and facts. Our favorite Featured Creature from here was the Coelacanth, basically because anything that can survive that long is flat out awesome. The section on Newly Discovered Creatures was a delight. Creature Collection(s): Marvelous Mammals and Fabulous Feet.
Gross: This collection was perfectly curated, with almost every listed animal or fact being enough to even make an adult wrinkle up their nose in disgust. Our favorite Featured Creature was, oddly enough, not one either of us considered gross at all. That was the Goliath Bird-Eating Spider. Creature Collection: Bugging Out
Cool: Here the Mwanza Flat-Headed Rock Agama takes the day. This little lizard in his Spiderman suit was a delight to see. However, the whole section is worth looking over multiple times. Creature Collections: The Eyes Have It, and Fantastic Frogs.
Overall, this was a book that both of us highly enjoyed, and I can only imagine how much better it is in book format than what we experienced in the e-book version. Great job from Animal Planet, as usual!
Disclaimer: We received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The book is laid out in 4 separate sections, but many of the animals in it could easily go in more than one.
Strange: This is the section that could truly fit most of the animals within it. Our favorite Featured Creature was the star-nosed mole, though the Proboscis Monkey was a closer runner up. The Common Potoo had us in stitches, and we simply had to find out more about this strange looking bird! The Frilled Shark had the potential to induce nightmares. Creature Collection: Birds
Unusual: Probably our least favorite section, but still filled with lots of pictures and facts. Our favorite Featured Creature from here was the Coelacanth, basically because anything that can survive that long is flat out awesome. The section on Newly Discovered Creatures was a delight. Creature Collection(s): Marvelous Mammals and Fabulous Feet.
Gross: This collection was perfectly curated, with almost every listed animal or fact being enough to even make an adult wrinkle up their nose in disgust. Our favorite Featured Creature was, oddly enough, not one either of us considered gross at all. That was the Goliath Bird-Eating Spider. Creature Collection: Bugging Out
Cool: Here the Mwanza Flat-Headed Rock Agama takes the day. This little lizard in his Spiderman suit was a delight to see. However, the whole section is worth looking over multiple times. Creature Collections: The Eyes Have It, and Fantastic Frogs.
Overall, this was a book that both of us highly enjoyed, and I can only imagine how much better it is in book format than what we experienced in the e-book version. Great job from Animal Planet, as usual!
Disclaimer: We received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
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