Tag Sabrina Weiss

Amazing Animals

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Amazing Animals
Sabrina Weiss and Paul Davis
What on Earth Books

Author Sabrina Weiss and illustrator Paul Davis take readers on an amazing tour of our planet’s wildlife in this addition to the Our Amazing World series.

After a general look at the relevant terminology, some double spreads focus on particular animals – leopards for instance and leafcutter ants, while others look at the fauna of specific habitats such as the Pantanal freshwater wild wetlands – a region in South America, and Africa’s Namib desert wherein live some creatures including oryx that have adapted to the harshest of landscapes.

In addition to the themed double spreads, half way through the book there’s a gate-fold world map that also gives fascinating facts about such things as the longest animal migrations, the ten biggest animals and those that live the longest.

We’re also introduced to stinky creatures, nocturnal ones, those with unusual parenting skills: did you know that there’s a female African cichlid fish that carries its eggs in its mouth for three weeks and doesn’t eat during this time? Amazing! Moreover, the hatched fry can return to their mother’s mouth should danger arise.

The final spread looks at some examples of endangered animals including the black rhinos from southern Africa, and the Chinese pangolin.

Back-matter includes a glossary and index. Subtitled ‘100+ Creatures That Will Boggle Your Mind’, stylishly illustrated and containing a wealth of information, this is a book for budding zoologists as well as school collections.

Amazing Islands

jillrbennett Leave a comment

Amazing Islands
Sabrina Weiss and Kerry Hyndman
What on Earth Books

In this, the first in the new Our Amazing World series, author Sabrina Weiss and illustrator Kerry Hyndman present a gallimaufry of facts and scenes of islands of all sizes and their inhabitants both human and animal.

After spreads defining an island and giving some related terms such as archipelago and ait, and relating how islands are created, there’s a look at some environmental threats.

Thereafter readers are taken on a tour of individual islands in various parts of the globe starting with the Galapagos archipelago.

Madagascar is another stopping point, the world’s fourth largest island we read, whereon 90% of the animals including several kinds of lemur, and a wealth of plants, are endemic.

One of the topical spreads is devoted to islands that have been used as prisons including Robben Island where my all time hero Nelson Mandela was kept for 30 years.

Readers with a particular penchant for statistical information will enjoy the fold-out world map locating all the islands mentioned in the narrative and it also provides several ‘island top tens’ including the ten largest and those countries with the highest number of islands.

Of the islands I’ve visited, Hong Kong is featured fairly early and several spreads later, Sri Lanka

followed by Great Britain. These are the only ones I can claim to have spent any time on other than Mauritius, which merits only a brief paragraph that includes the fact that is was once home to the dodo.

Each spread is alluringly illustrated with realistic depictions of the relevant flora and fauna, and organised with sufficient variety to maintain the reader’s interest.

There’s also a glossary, pronunciation guide, an index and a final sources page that includes web sites, should readers wish to research further themselves.

A book to dip into, either in school or at home.