Synopsis
These fascinating creatures live everywhere, from the deepest oceans to the highest mountains, from the hot desert to the icy tundra…and they’re the world’s deadliest killers. Thanks to the fantastic visual display that unfolds on these pages, children can get up-close and personal with the fiercest animals on Earth and find out just why they’re so lethal. And what amazing images! There are four three-page gatefolds that open wide, three even bigger four-page gatefolds, and a poster on the reverse of the jacket. The wide variety of predators includes reptiles, insects, mammals, and birds, and they range from massive sperm whales, hippos, and buffalo to the tiny fleas and mosquitoes that actually cause the most destruction of all. Intrigued youngsters will find out why animals kill other animals, what they do to locate their prey, and how they slay—including claws, tusks, powerful jaws and teeth, and venom. (Or, in the case of the mantis shrimp, by punching its victim to death!) And kids will especially enjoy looking at such details as a polar bear’s dangerous paw and the glow-in-the-dark eyes of a leopard readying for a nighttime attack. Throughout, a “life-size stamp” points out all pictures that capture a creature’s true size.Children's Literature
What a marvelous book to capture the attention of all ages, though it is not very portable. The illustrations, true to their description, are huge, with the foldouts much larger than many laps or desks! The illustrations make the book inviting, yet the text is informative without being overwhelming. Not for the faint of heart, the work presents some frank facts about how some of these animals destroy their prey; illustrations depict ferocious teeth, claws, stingers and other body parts used to turn a catch into a meal. Full of trivia-type information, this work also introduces us to creatures we may not be familiar with, such as the False Vampire Bat, the tiger centipede and three pre-historic beings that may spur further research. This book is also astute in pointing out that just because something is large doesn't mean it will cause the most harm, just the opposite is true, as is the case with the tiny rat flea and mosquito. A nifty bonus is the life size poster of a tiger inside the book jacket—be sure your copy has one.