Sad Animal Facts

Sometimes I blurt out random facts to astonished people. (We'll pretend their astonishment is at the sheer amount of bizarre but fascinating knowledge I have rather than at my complete social awkwardness.) I don't know why I retain these random facts but they cheerfully take up something like 90% of my available brain space. I am rather addicted to them and to the books that contain them so when I saw this appealing little book at the cash wrap at the bookstore, it was a foregone conclusion that I'd pick it up and take it home with me.

This is very much a gift book. Each page has a brightly colored, basic, hand drawn cartoons of an animal sharing something unknown about its species. Sometimes the fact is sad (if we anthropomorphize) but show more sometimes its just a fascinating little tidbit about one of the critters with whom we share this planet. Each of the facts is scientifically proven, which will leaving you wondering why science tested certain things in the first place (why did we need to know herrings communicate through farting, that turtles breathe through their butts, that squirrels can't burp, or that dwarf lemurs line their homes with feces?), and the alphabetical index in the back of the book offers more information on each fact. Lest you think there are only gross 12 year old boy type facts in the book (although don't pretend you didn't enjoy reading them just now and aren't going to use them at your next company party because you definitely are), there are also facts about sleeping habits, eating habits, species empathy, and more as well. The illustrations are cute, the facts Barker has chosen to illustrate are interesting (and only a few of them are common knowledge), and the book is a delightful little book to dip in and out of. As a side note, it is also very appealingly constructed, with smooth glossy pages and a heavy feel in your hands. Highly recommended if you too need new gems for your small talk repertoire. show less

“Turtles breath out their butts.”

So, in my opinion of the above, they weren’t all sad facts!
The facts are divided into categories - Reptiles and Amphibians, Mammals, Marsupials, Cetaceans and Pinnipeds, Fish, Birds, Insects and Arachnids, Miscellaneous Invertebrates, and an Appendix with little paragraphs about the facts. Each fact has a cute illustration with clever quotes by the animal. It’s super cute, and quite informative! Funny too! As I said, they really aren’t all sad! Like...

“Herrings communicate with farts.”
and...
“Hippos attract mates by peeing.”

‘Nuff said!

Each page has a "sad" animal fact illustrated by a humorous and sometimes pathetic cartoon drawing. Some of the facts will give readers double-takes ("A chipmunk can't recognize its face in a mirror"); fortunately the appendix provides a brief background for each of the facts. (The animals are listed alphabetically in the appendix along with their sad fact but without page references, so readers will have to know how each animal is classified in order to refer back to the cartoon.) The book appears aimed at adults but kids would certainly appreciate "Turtles breathe out their butts." But maybe not so much "If a female ferret goes into heat and doesn't mate she will die."

Nature inflicts suffering upon the animal kingdom in weird ways. Such as adult fireflies don't eat and Chipmunks cannot recognize their own reflection. In her book, Sad Animal Facts, Brooke Barker has compiled a collection of unfortunate facts about animals along with hand-drawn illustrations of each. The last few pages are an index which go a little further in depth into each factoid. For instance, while I already knew that butterflies taste with their feet, I didn't realize it was because they are testing for suitable leaves for their caterpillars to eat once hatched. The illustrations are cute, giving us an insight to how these animals might feel about their oddities. The book is a quick read and would make a quirky gift this holiday show more season, or for any reason. show less

A very amusing little book. Bonus: it includes an appendix with more explanations of the facts in each comic - so you have fun and learn something!

For those of you who like animal trivia facts, this book is for you. There are over 150 hand-drawn illustrations with little known facts about your favorite animal. For example, did you know that a koi fish can live 200 years? Or that gorillas can catch human colds or that camels can drink 30 gallons of water in 15 minutes? This book is a quick read and will make you smile. I recommend this entertaining read not only for adults but also for children and all ages in between. I wonder what the author will write next?

Paula L. / Marathon County Public Library
Find this book in our library catalog.

nonfiction, animal facts with cute cartoons

my Spanish comprehension still needs a lot of work, but I could mostly figure out what each fact was about. Some of these "facts" are perhaps a little oversimplified, but she includes some backmatter with more info if you are interested.

I also highly recommend: Brooke's substack "Never Not Nervous" - cute comics sent directly to your inbox