A dandy demonstration of how vividly information can be presented when numbers and pictures are linked in inventive ways.
Chock-full of ingeniously designed infographics, this quick but memorable comparative survey of the animal kingdom offers fresh insights on nearly every page.
The 26 single-topic spreads range from looks at major classes and phyla to animal senses, records and conservation. Each features a cleanly laid-out mix of graphic-style animal shapes and explanatory captions or introductory hooks (“There are more animals in your bed than in any zoo in the world”). Though some of the images are straight-up illustrations, far more often they are sized, ordered or arranged to reflect adjacent statistics or other measures—as percentages of endangered species, the frog silhouette representing amphibians (41 percent) is nearly twice the size of the mammalian elephant (25 percent), for instance. Some graphics, such as a chart comparing daily food intake and waste production in terms of body weight, are as droll as they are informative (picture, if you can, a blue whale and an elephant sitting on toilets). Others convey multilayered messages, such as the six animals (none, pointedly, human) perching atop bars that resemble pedestals in a chart of average time males devote to child care.
A dandy demonstration of how vividly information can be presented when numbers and pictures are linked in inventive ways. (index, further reading) (Nonfiction. 8-11)Pub Date: March 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-7534-6887-6
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Kingfisher
Review Posted Online: Dec. 17, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
Choruses of delighted “Eeewww”s guaranteed, as well as exposure to such important scientific terms as “mustelid” and...
Fertile fodder for fans of faux fearful freakouts.
The latest in a largely interchangeable series with nearly identical titles (100 Deadliest Things on the Planet, 2012; 100 Most Awesome Things on the Planet, 2011; etc.), this gallery of creepy creatures offers unapologetically sensationalized content. Small portrait photos, five per spread, are matched to names, size ranges, two pithy descriptive notes and “scariness ratings” on a scale of one to five shark teeth. Along with, no surprise, 10 types of shark, the entries include a variety of biting insects and parasitic worms, poison frogs, snakes, carnivorous mammals on land and in the sea, deadly birds (a cassowary “[k]icks hard enough to tear an animal open or rip through a car door”), poisonous jellyfish and killer spiders. No need to fear, writes the author, “most” of these animals will leave you alone if not bothered, and “most” of their bites or stings have medical treatments. Browsers seeking self-inflicted terror or disgust will find in the small but rousing pictures a wide range of open maws and jagged teeth—but (with rare exceptions like the guinea worm being pulled from a sore) nothing seriously gruesome or disturbing.
Choruses of delighted “Eeewww”s guaranteed, as well as exposure to such important scientific terms as “mustelid” and “parasite.” (“Top 100” countdown, index) (Nonfiction. 8-10)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-545-56342-0
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2013
An updated and more melodramatically titled version of a 1994 title, it sounds warnings that have grown all the more...
Bright, sharp nature photos and a special focus on ice-based ecosystems set this survey apart from the usual run of assignment titles on glaciers and the polar regions.
Returning continually to the dangerous effects of global warming, the authors describe changes in climate conditions at both poles and explain how those changes affect glaciers and icebergs. Wilson and León go on to introduce threatened or officially endangered life forms that live in those habitats. These range from algae and the glacier flea (“Each night it freezes, hard as a popsicle, to the surface ice until warmer daytime temperatures free it”) to polar bears and penguins. With side glances at Mount Kilimanjaro and the Swiss Alps, the photos capture Arctic foxes in both winter and summer coats, penguins and puffins at their most photogenic, glaciers rolling grandly down to sea and luminous views of sunlit icebergs and a glacial ice cave. Bulleted facts at the end reinforce the message; leads to eco-activist organizations provide readers motivated by it with means to get involved.
An updated and more melodramatically titled version of a 1994 title, it sounds warnings that have grown all the more immediate. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 9-11)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-9799759-0-5
Page Count: 48
Publisher: London Town Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2013
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