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Unusual Creatures: A Mostly Accurate Account Of Some Of Earth's Strangest Animals (2012)

by Michael Hearst(Favorite Author)
4.12 of 5 Votes: 1
ISBN
1452104670 (ISBN13: 9781452104676)
languge
English
genre
publisher
Chronicle Books
review 1: It was fascinating to read from beginning to end. Hearst is a master at finding the ooo gross facts that kids adore. Quick: what creature produces cubical feces, and why? (I should make you go read the book, but here's the answer: the wombat, which uses the feces to mark their paths and need the feces to stay put, not roll away!) I doubt highly I will retain much specifics from the book...the whole thing should be required reading for Jeopardy) but what you do retain is a sense of wonder of how amazing the creatures are that share our planet. A lot of the comments are funny which come close but do not veer over into annoyance. Lots of quizzes with obviously incorrect answers. The problem is, some of the correct answers are so bizarre you'd be tempted to call them incorrect... more. While playing, he makes a really strong effort to make certain kids (and curious adults, I know of one other adult reading this book right now) which are just for laughs and which are real. Besides, the blurb on the front from Lemony Snicket is almost worth the cost of the book right there: "Unusual Creatures is a rich and fantastic book of charming imaginary animals who....what? They're real? I'll be under the bed." Good index in the back complements the alphabetical table of contents.
review 2: A fun way to learn about not so well known animals, but also an important lesson about how we impact the earth. He adds resources at the end for kids to find out more and the anecdotes on each page are really great too! I would recommend this to reluctant readers and those who are having a hard time being interested in science classes! The true/false sections add some laughs but also some lessons on learning how to analyze fact vs. fiction. less
Reviews (see all)
Swoistenee
really neat design. Definitely recommended for those non-fiction afficionados.
nataliereyes
I would have given 5 stars, but the poems were...meh. Amazing otherwise!
jdragon
"Tardigrades are also known as water bears or moss piglets." Adorable!
irmafermin
Fascinating! Kids will love it!
charlie
Good Book Talker.
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