Leonora Hornblow (1920–2005)

Outdated and marvelous. Truly.

I like best its schizophrenia about extinctions. "All the Smiladons died out thousands of years ago. That's a good thing. A Smiladon was cruel even when he was a kitten." Also, we're sad the mammoths are gone, but it's basically okay because they were here when we needed them for hunting and we don't need them anymore now. And yet, despite those examples (and many more like them) it ends on this note:

"We can't let this happen to the whales. We must take care of show more the world's last giants... and all the other wonderful creatures who share the earth with us." show less

This 1968 production is all hand-drawn images, no photographs, large size font, and ample detail for a young reader (7-10 years old).

I miss books like this that actually give vivid details about the topic at hand, but also really push young readers to understand colloquialisms and humor amid the text.

*Tangent:

When it comes to nature/insect/animal books, I prefer this 'old school' stuff. Though I heavily make use of more modern styles, and I love what new camera technologies have done for show more giving kids visuals of what they're reading about, I think the information presentation in contemporary books, such as NatGeo Kids, constipates the learning and comprehension process for a number of reasons. Namely through its emphasis on standardizing reading levels into numerical 'levels' ("Guided Reading Level" system (http://shop.nationalgeographic.com/ngs/category/national-geographic-readers-series). (Such systems for reading level aren't necessarily new, nor are they limited to NatGeo, I just find it odd how this systematic labeling of reading level is even taking a stronghold on books that are more likely to be family books than school books.)

Here's one of the problems with the reading level system: he kids are really aware of the "expectations" associated with the various levels. They see the number 2 on a book cover and they decide that's above their level, though when I show them a book like this, they're typically able to read the vast majority of it, even though it would be too advanced even for the highest reading level with NatGeo kids.

Another reason I think contemporary books constipate the comprehension process is because they try to make the page experience too exciting or over-stimulating. Again, NatGeo Kids, for instance, has a main text area, then at least 2, if not 3, additional areas with facts, definitions, or narrative across and around the page. While I enjoy spying the additional fun facts with kids, I admire older models like you'll find in this book much more.

In this book, each chapter has a single topic. It's organized in a coherent why that requires sustained attention. Some chapters are quite short; some chapters span about 3 pages. Though I recognize that increased reading through Internet sites requires students to sift through multiple levels of supporting (and/or distracting) details that are positioned spatially in different areas around the main topic, I think some good, old-fashioned connection to the essentialist style of reading with sustained focus on a single topic, learning a scaffolded approach to assessing the most important facts from the supporting details, and holding attention across a prolonged period of pages-- even in the absence of pictures--is a huge benefit to kids, really lacking in the modern stuff.

All to say: so long as the information is still accurate, I like to revert to the 60s-80s era books when it comes to teaching about nature and insects. It seems that's where I'm most likely to consistently find amassed information presented on single topics in ways that are appropriately stimulating.

This book is a keeper. show less

I adored these books as a small child, and picking them back up as an adult, I still find them worthwhile. "Animals" isn't my favorite of the bunch (I prefer creepy-crawlies), but it still manages to pack an amazing amount of interesting information into big font and small words. It somehow feels like a grown-up book despite being readable by a first or second grader, which was exactly what a kid like me wanted.

This book should never be read to a child. This is a fantastic snap-shot in a moment in time depicting our evolving understanding of ancient life, but is so distant from reality that it should not be allowed near impressionable minds. Anthropology/historical reference only.

Michael K. Frith's art is lovely and fun, and clearly strongly inspired by Charles Knight and other early paleo-artists. The writing however is awful. Besides the completely inaccurate biology, these folks had clearly no show more idea how plate-tectonics worked, to the point that the descriptions of explosions under the earth causing mountains to rise had to be inspired by Disney's Fantasia 1940. The story telling also wanders in tone and topic pretty wildly, though it ends with a PSA to save the whales, so that's something. show less