Author picture
14 Works 212 Members 9 Reviews

About the Author

Jules Howard is a UK-based wildlife expert, author, science-writer and presenter. He writes about zoology and wildlife conservation and is a regular contributor to BBC Wildlife magazine, BBC Science Focus magazine and the Guardian. Jules also runs a social enterprise that has brought almost 100,000 show more young people closer to the natural world, partly by tapping into the wonder of ponds. show less

Includes the name: Mr. Jules Howard

Works by Jules Howard

Tagged

Common Knowledge

There is no Common Knowledge data for this author yet. You can help.

Members

Reviews

I LOVE learning, so seeing this encyclopedia perked me right up! Sure, insects can be creepy and crawly, but I was down for learning some new stuff about everyone's "favourite" creatures! And I wasn't disappointed!

Do keep in mind that this is not an exhaustive collection of bugs, but it is an excellent start for eager minds!!

The pictures in this book are absolute awesome! I really enjoyed the damselfly picture that stared into my soul (hoenstly, it was creepy to stare at my but the art is AMAZE-BALLS).

Here are select things I learned:
1. There's complete and incomplete metamorphosis? Wait... what? Why did my biology classes skip that information? THAT IS SO COOL.

2. Dragonflies are actually predators, and Damselflies are a thing. Who knew?

3. The Walking Flower Mantis looks super cool and pretty. I even googled them because I didn't believe they were actually pink. They are gorgeous!! They look like flowers!

4. Toe Biters, Hummingbird Hawkmoth & Slave-Making Ants. That is all.

Things I would like to avoid:
1. Swams of locusts. Kthanxbai.

2. EARWIGS HAVE WINGS. REPEAT: EARWIGS HAVE WINGS. They are way grosser now. Yuck. They can chase me when I run away!

Overall, this book is totally, super amazing! I would absolutely recommend this to young and old readers alike! You'll learn a whole bunch. I could totally see this book being used for school projects or for nerdy little kids like me (back in the day, of course) who just wanted to soak up knowledge like a sponge. I will definitely be using some of these facts for my useless trivia I spout out at people on a regular basis.

Five out of five stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing for giving me an opportunity to read this book!
… (more)
 
Flagged
Briars_Reviews | 1 other review | Aug 4, 2023 |
Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
 
Flagged
fernandie | 1 other review | Sep 15, 2022 |
This beautifully illustrated, oversized book takes readers into the wonderful world of skeletons. It starts with an introduction, using a human skeleton, and explaining basic terms like cartilage and what bones are made of. It also discusses how fossils are used to discover the past. The rest of the book, examining the skeletons of various animals, is divided into types of movement. The jaws and biting power of a sperm whale, tiger, and rattlesnake are explained and compared, illustrating how different skeletal structures perform different functions. Further chapters explore digging (European mole, pink fairy armadillos, and the greater bilby), grasping and claws, holding weight, jumping, gliding and flight, running, and swimming. Back matter consists of a glossary.
The pictures have a classic feeling, which reminds me of the animal fact encyclopedias of my childhood of the 80s. The skeletons are carefully articulated, placed over silhouette illustrations of the animals, and showing the way different parts work together. The text is fairly dense and often placed against dark backgrounds, which can make it difficult to read.

Verdict: This is really a browsing book, something to purchase as a gift or an additional purchase. With the lack of sources and illustrations instead of photographs, it's not something to use for a research report, but will please strong readers who enjoy learning different facts about animals and are interested in biology. It is a little difficult to source, being originally published in the UK and the US edition must be purchased direct.

ISBN: 9781536210415; This edition published April 2020 by Big Picture Press; Purchased via Amazon by me and donated to the library
… (more)
 
Flagged
JeanLittleLibrary | Sep 4, 2020 |
This book is horribly written (in my opinion) but some-what entertaining. The author makes a rather poor (and unsuccessful) attempt to explore death in nature. There is no focus to this book, no thesis or structure - there is just a collection of chapters that briefly discuss whatever random, sometimes vaguely death related topic the author came across at any given time (I suppose this is the adventure part of the title?). The book struck me as being more about life and the strange habits of humans rather than death. Some of these animal stories were interesting, but all were rather superficial. The writing style is informal, science-lite, overly chatty with too many far too personal anecdotes and opinions. This is basically a shallow but fairly entertaining book to read if you don't feel like putting too much effort into your reading matter.

… (more)
 
Flagged
ElentarriLT | Mar 24, 2020 |

Lists

Awards

You May Also Like

Associated Authors

Statistics

Works
14
Members
212
Popularity
#104,834
Rating
4.0
Reviews
9
ISBNs
46
Languages
2

Charts & Graphs