The Illustrated Compendium of Amazing Animal Facts

“The Illustrated Compendium of Amazing Animal Facts” by Maja Säfström is a funny little book. Like Matt Sewell’s “Owls,” also published by Ten Speed Press, it is quirky, nice to look at, and actually informative of some of nature’s stranger evolutions. This book is even better suited for younger readers, as the facts can be read within a short attention span. There is a pleasant ridged texture on the cover, but the cool metallic blue there is the only color in the book – all the pages are black and white. The drawings are even and controlled, with enough accuracy for unmistakable identification, but with a signature artistic freedom, including some speech bubbles from a few animals. They range from ants to whales, with one to several facts. Sometimes they’re pictured by themselves; other times they are shown with some of their habitat. Each has two facing pages devoted to it, seen all in one view. There are a few trends across species, such as the ability or inability to move backwards; what they are called in a group; and eating, sleeping and even excreting habits. Many of the facts you may have heard before, but maybe those younger readers haven’t yet. I’d like to think these are all indeed facts, and not any urban legends. 10 birds, 26 mammals, 3 fishes, 11 invertebrates, and 5 reptiles or amphibians make up this bestiary, yet they do not appear to be in any taxonomic or alphabetic order. These animals are familiar favorites, from the domestic to wild, common to rare, and all seem happy to be part of this collection. This is a fun read, a book to flip through and another way to learn about the diversity of life.

Note: I received a free copy of this title through BloggingForBooks in exchange for an honest review.