APA Citation: Heart, M. (2012). Unusual creatures: A mostly accurate account of some of the earth’s strangest animals. (J. Noordeman, Illus.) San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.
Plot summary: In Michael Heart’s Unusual Creatures, readers are introduced to some of the strangest creatures living on earth. The book provides handy diagrams, fun facts, and even humourous poetry!
Relation to other works: The tone of this book is very reminiscent of Lemony Snicket – dry and witty.
Appeal: There is no other way to put it – this book is hilarious. The organization of the book is well planned, as readers are first introduced to both the author’s definition of an unusual creature and the biological classifications before the first creature is discussed. The writing is incredibly clever, and the design of the book is graphically appealing.
Audience or readership: Ages 8-12.
Limitations or weaknesses: If readers are looking for a more book on unusual creatures with a more serious tone, this is certainly not the one!
Overall assessment: As entertaining as it is informative, readers will go wild over this book. I had such a fun time flipping through this that it didn’t occur to me that I was actually absorbing information… until later I told a friend of mine that wombats poop cubes. In my opinion, anything that can make learning fun is genius. For amateur zoologists and anthropologists, the book also includes biological classifications and a ruler at the bottom of each page to properly gauge the size of the animal. Grade: A+
KIDS LIT FTW! 