Amazing Animals of the World

This is a book that will keep youngsters (first through fifth grade) entertained and learning for days. It is arranged into seven chapters — Animals with Resplendent Colors, Animals that Remember Old Times, Animals that Disguise Themselves as Other Animals, Animals that Get Their Food in a Special Way, Animals that Grow Something Unexpected, Animals with Their Own Lamp, and Animals that Defend Themselves in Wonderful Ways. Each chapter has an introductory paragraph for the group and several examples of animals, each with a good write-up that has fun facts written in very conversational language with a lot of humor. They cover such things as where they live, how they move, what they eat, or whatever is special about them. These are accompanied by a cartoonish illustration of the animal in a personified form. Perhaps the hope is children will be curious enough to do some research to find photographs that will show what the real animals look like. The write-up gives just enough information about the animals to whet young readers’ appetites and send them searching for more. This could never be mistaken for a science book, but there is science information embedded in the humorous paragraphs.