Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Caldecott Honor-winner Jenkins is well-known for his paper collage artwork and for deploying fascinating animal facts in easily digestible picture book formats. This volume, composed of a series of captivating infographics, ups the ante. Each spread spotlights a different topic, such as the expected standards of size and speed, as well as more obscure features, like the spread comparing tongue lengths, both in actual measurements and relative to body size. The graphics are paired with plenty of explanatory text that defines key terms, like decibel and biomass, and snappy collage illustrations of some creatures. The pages highlighting animals that thrive in extreme temperatures features a handy thermometer chart with emperor penguins on the cold bottom and Pompeii worms at the steamy top, and special attention is given to tardigrades, microscopic creatures that can live anywhere, even in space. There's a wealth of information here, organized so cleverly that it's easy to see almost immediately what the images are communicating, and the accompanying factoids and scientific concepts are often surprising. The intriguing and engaging format of this title is stimulating on a variety of levels, and the approach should appeal to a wide range of students, especially visual learners, something for which educators will be grateful. A brilliantly executed take on a perennially high-interest topic.--Rosenfeld, Shelle Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-6-Jenkins combines cut-and-torn-paper illustrations with infographics to present highly engaging visual comparisons from the animal kingdom. Ranging from one to four pages in length, the graphic sections feature careful layouts that convey well-chosen and fascinating data. Clean lines and abundant white space lead readers to absorb the information without strain or confusion. In one example, a horizontal bar graph examines the speeds of 15 animals, each identified by name and a silhouette figure. In addition, illustrations highlight two particular examples with captions. Varied graph formats demonstrate each topic to maximum effect. Concentric circles show the surprising differences between wing speeds of hummingbirds and gnats. Cut-paper horns are neatly placed within a bar graph of horn lengths. There's even a logic tree outlining the decision-making process of an armadillo. Scales are clearly noted, even when they shift on the following page, as in the impressive four-page look at the deadliest animals that reveals the mosquito's clear dominance. Estimated data is always identified, such as numbers representing the combined biomass of species. In some cases, two graphs are used to offer different perspectives on the topic: a horizontal bar graph details tongue lengths, for example, while on the facing page a vertical depiction compares those lengths to the size of each animal (and the bars are cleverly rounded to resemble tongues). VERDICT Compelling visual presentation makes the information accessible and exciting. Highly recommended for all science collections.-Steven Engelfried, Wilsonville Public Library, OR © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Steve Jenkinss work (The Top of the World, rev. 3/99; The Animal Book, rev. 1/14) is characterized by exquisite cut- and torn-paper collages, a particular affinity for zoology, a plethora of pithy facts and trivia, and an elegant design aesthetic that allows readers to navigate information-heavy pages without becoming confused or disoriented. It seems like a natural evolution that his most recent book, with its focus on infographics, places that last element front and center. Jenkins leverages numbers, graphs, symbols, and silhouettes in tandem with his collages to visually distill the relationships between and among various members of the animal kingdom. Topics include size, life span, defenses, migration, and extinction. Throughout the book and in the brief note at the end, Jenkins makes it clear that some of his information involves composite estimates drawn from multiple, differing sources. The back matter also includes a short bibliography and list of websites. Scientists, like librarians, are in the business of classification -- and Jenkins leaves room for students and teachers alike to ruminate on the order of things, draw their own inferences and conclusions, and embark on their own paths of research. (And we still get plenty of trivia, including the fact that a termite queen can live up to fifty years and that a bulldog bat can make a noise as loud as a jet plane taking off, though the sound is too high-pitched for human ears.) jonathan hunt(c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A visual compendium of facts and figures about the animal world.The prolific Jenkins knows how to present information in ways that resonate with his child readers. He presents aspects of animal physiology that have particular appeal for their ease of understanding (size, heart rate, life span) and for their eww! factor (venom, poison, human deaths). His examples range widely, and his information reflects what young readers want to know. How many different kinds are there? Which is fastest? Who travels furthest? He even touches on endangered species and mass extinctions. This engaging title will also delight educators, who will find it a splendid source for graph- and chart-reading practice. There are pie graphs and bar charts in varying designs, histograms, proportionally scaled graphics, clusters, a timeline, and even a flow chart. There are numerous symbols and keys. The clean design places both the animal images and the connected infographics on generous white space with clear labels. Aspects such as size and biomass are presented to scale, and these comparisons always include humans. The graphical combination of cut-and-tornpaper collage, words, and numbers begins with the table of contents. In an afterword, Jenkins explains where he got his numbers and how he dealt with conflicting statistics. A special treat for all who love animal statistics. (bibliography, websites) (Informational picture book. 6-12) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
