Jenkins, Steve. 1995. Biggest, Strongest, Fastest. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
ISBN 0-395-69701-8.
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| Biggest, Stongest, Fastest | |
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| From the opening page of the book, readers are told exactly what they will encounter in this book. Jenkins informs us that he will present us with �some of the biggest and smallest, fastest and slowest, strongest and longest animals. They are the record holders of the animal world.� The dialog is perfectly suited for children and examples are given throughout the book, which help young readers create a mental picture of the material presented. The book is organized | ||||||||||||||||||
| in a way that makes it very easy to follow, and small drawings in just about every page provide more information about each animal. For example, when we learn that, �The tallest animal is the giraffe,� a small drawing in the corner of the page provides a great visual of just how tall it is by placing an adult next to a giraffe. This allows readers to see that even an adult might not be as tall as a giraffe�s front leg! A more formal paragraph appears next to the small drawing. While the book�s main text is in large print, these small paragraphs are featured in smaller print, giving the sense that the author has indeed done some research in order to present each record-breaking animal. Illustrations are created by using cutout paper and often they will overlap onto the next page. In the case of the blue whale, for example, both the illustration and text take up three pages (�The blue whale/is the biggest animal/that has ever lived.�). This gives young readers the sense that indeed blue whales are gigantic animals! Again, the silhouette drawing provides us with a very approximate visual of what an adult person might look like next to such an animal. When referring to small animals, such as the Etruscan shrew and the bee hummingbird, we are shown what each animal would look like next to a human hand. From beginning to end, this book is filled with animal facts which can easily be understood by young readers. The author does not bombard the reader with numbers, but instead provides examples which would better help us understand the wonder of these animals. Instead of simply telling us that the Etruscan shrew is 2 � inches long, we are told that it �could sleep in a teaspoon� and that �it weighs about as much as a Ping-Pong ball.� Dialog like this is what makes this book a joy to read and learn from. Both adults and children will have trouble putting the book down without finishing it. The book also features a chart with a summary of each of the animals presented and even additional facts on each animal at the end of the book. Booklist says, �Here�s proof that power isn�t just about size and that science can be a lot of fun.� A great, fun, and educational read! Jenkins, Steve. 1995. Biggest, Strongest, Fastest. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN 0-395-69701-8. |
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