The Big Book of Beasts
Written and Illustrated by Yuval Zommer
Beast Facts from Expert Barbara Taylor
Thames & Hudson  4/18/2017
978-0-500-65106-3
64 pages   Ages 4 and up

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Themes: Wild Animals, Mammals, Ice Age Beasts
Genre: Children’s Nonfiction Picture Book

Synopsis

“Why do wolves howl at the moon?
Do hyenas really laugh?
Why do Hippos love the mud?

“Find out the answers to these and many more beastly questions inside (The Big Book of Beasts). Play search and find in the pictures, too. Can you spot all of the special paw prints?

“Meet all kinds of grizzly, hairy, wild, and wonderful beasts from around the world in this first book of animals to share with young children. It is packed with facts about how different types of wild animals eat, hunt, and survive.” [BACK COVER]

Opening: “BEASTLY FAMILIES. What makes a mammal a beast? Warm-blooded animals with hair or fur have the scientific name “mammals.” Some mammals are friendly and some are beastly! Beasts are deadly, cunning, and most importantly, Wild! Here’a who’s who of the most beastly of the bunch.”
Why I Like The Big Book of Beasts
~What is a beast? This is the first question answered in The Big Book of Beasts. To know, you must know something about their claws and jaws, and then you must know how and why beasts howl, growl, and smell.

~There are 19 different “beasts,” including those of the Ice Age, included in The Big Book of Beasts. Maybe most important to know, is which of these beasts could be roaming on your street, right now!

~Why would you want to help a beast survive? If you like orangutans, elephants, rhinos, and lynx, this will be an important section for you. Help these “beasts” avoid extinction—the causes are mostly human caused. One of the last sections explains why it is important to save these beasts.

~Included is a thorough index and a few “beastly words” are defined.

~The illustrations are the best part of this book. They are realistic and show the animals in action within their habitats.

~Kids will enjoy The Big Book of Beasts. They will flip back and forth to their favorite animals and to those unfamiliar animals. Kids will be interested to know what makes these animals “beastly.”

~The book is oversized, much taller than normal, giving it large spreads to build its theme of beasts.

~Zommer hid 15 specific paw prints throughout the book (see below). He asks kids to find them, but to beware of the close-but-not-correct paw prints. The illustrative answers to the hidden paws are in the back of the book, spread by spread.
~The Big Book of Beasts is not as scientific as teachers may prefer, but it does stick closely to the “Beast” theme. For each animal, various attitudes, abilities, and physical attributes are included, giving kids a good basic understanding of these 19 animals.

~For younger kids, The Big Book of Beasts is a good introduction to wild mammals. For older children (through middle grade), The Big Book of Beasts can work as a starting point for discussions, scientific classifications, or a lesson on any of the animals included. (But these kids will need additional information to fill in the gaps.)

~The Big Book of Beasts is a big and bold introduction to what are often considered scary beasts, especially if met face-to-face in the wild. What would you do? First, you need to understand the animal, which is where The Big Book of Beasts best does its job.

~Kids of all ages will enjoy reading the text and viewing the various illustrations in this giant of a book. Homeschooling parents, with more than one child, will find The Big Book of Beasts works with multiple age levels.

~If you like The Big Book of Beasts, then expand your knowledge of some smaller animals in Zommer’s The Big Book of Bugs.

Comments
Zommer defines beats as, “Beasts are deadly, cunning and most importantly, wild!” Calling an armadillos, sloths, or beavers beast, may push the point of what is considered beastly. Others may feel additional mammals from The Big Book of Beasts should also be questioned.
Resources/Activities
FOR KIDS
1. Explore Animals Using a Widescreen at Arkive HERE.
2. Wild Animal Sanctuary can be found HERE.
3. Wild Animals at Animal Planet can be found HERE.
FOR TEACHERS
1. Wild and Tame Animals can be found HERE.
2. Keeping Wild Animals Wonderfully Wild! – Lesson Plans for Teachers from Time can be found HERE.
3. Biodiversity for Kids (Includes Wild Animals) – Lesson Plans for Teachers can be found HERE.
4. Animals in the Wild – Lesson Plans for Teachers can be found HERE.

Find more “Perfect Picture Book Friday” reviews at Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog HERE.

THE BIG BOOK OF BEASTS. Text and illustrations copyright © 2017 by Yuval Zommer. Reproduced by permission of the publisher, Thames & Hudson, New York, NY.

Amazon—Indie Books—Thames & Hudson

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Illustrations from THE BIG BOOK OF BEASTS by Yuval Zommer copyright © 2017 by Yuval Zommer. Used with permission from Thames & Hudson.

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Copyright © 2017 by Sue Morris/Kid Lit Reviews. All Rights Reserved

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The Big Book of Beasts
Written and Illustrated by Yuval Zommer
Beast Facts from Expert Barbara Taylor
Thames & Hudson 4/18/2017
9780500651063

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