Unusual Creatures: A Mostly Accurate Account of Some of Earth's Strangest Animals
Gr 4-7-Readers are introduced to a passel of near-alien life-forms from a wide diversity of habitats. There's the hammer-headed bat (Africa), whose noise is not a high-pitched squeak but a resonant HONK! as loud as a car horn. The giant Gippsland earthworm (Australia), has a 10-foot body almost as thick as a garden hose. And the Yeti crab (South Pacific), a blind, deep-sea dweller with long, thin yellow hairs covering each of its legs. And they are just for starters. In alphabetical order, these 50 unusual creatures trundle/swim/fly/crawl through the pages, with illustrations, global distribution maps, and a scientific classification chart as guideposts. Pen-and-ink illustrations abound, washed over with soft pastel colors. Paragraphs of chatty, informative text provide data on habits and physical characteristics and are enriched with boxes of interesting facts. Also proffered are true/false Q&As;, pop quizzes, and the like. The text is introduced by a clear section on scientific classification and is rounded out with hints on leaving a smaller "footprint" on our planet, a list of conservation organizations' websites, and some nifty information on the author and the illustrators. Personal in tone, chatty, and intriguing in subject matter-a sort of "Guinness Book of Animal Oddities"-this handsome volume is a fun-for-all informative compendium.-Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NYα(c) Copyright 2011.  Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc.  No redistribution permitted.