Big Cats [Hardcover]

Dorothy Hinshaw Patent (Author), Kendahl Jan Jubb (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

Big cats are on the prowl and ready to pounce.

From their amazing skill as predators to their incredible strength and grace, big cats are some of the most awe-inspiring animals on Earth. Female lions work as a team to ambush and capture their prey. The more solitary leopard is able to drag an animal much larger than itself up a tree. And the Siberian tiger, the biggest cat of all, can weigh almost seven hundred pounds and measure the length of a compact car.

Award-winning science writer Dorothy Hinshaw Patent clearly presents the facts about all big cats, from where they live to what they hunt to how they are threatened by humans. With fine artist Kendahl Jan Jubb’s striking watercolors, these perfectly adapted hunting machines leap off the pages.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-6–Jubb's dazzling watercolor artwork will draw readers into the world of the big cats, and Patent has provided plenty of facts, comparing and contrasting the anatomies, abilities, and habitats of various species. The author also discusses how each one is threatened by human intervention and the possibility of extinction. Maps on the front papers and throughout the book show where the different species live, and fact boxes give additional information. This is a visually and intellectually stimulating book that works as a picture book for general reading or for reports. Young readers will be drawn to it because of the pictures, but will stay with it for the compelling facts about these magnificent creatures.–Cynde Suite, Bartow County Library System, Adairsville, GA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 2-4. The writer and illustrator of Flashy Fantastic Rainforest Frogs (1997) and Colorful Captivating Coral Reefs (2003) spotlight big cats in their latest highly illustrated animal book. After mentioning the physical features and behaviors common to all or most big cats, the book looks more closely at the lion, leopard, cheetah, tiger, snow leopard, cougar, and jaguar. Patent writes with clarity, economy, and a knack for finding apt descriptions. Discussing the size of tigers, she explains that the male of even the smallest species, the Sumatran tiger, weighs "as much as 300 pounds, the size of a professional football player." Though occasionally awkward in their depiction of the cats, the watercolor paintings clearly represent the animals in their habitats. A typical double-page spread introduces a single species with a couple of paragraphs of text, a fast-facts sidebar, a small map indicating worldwide range, and one or two large paintings of the animals in action or repose. Cats on maps appear on the endpapers. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Walker Childrens (September 22, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802789684
• ISBN-13: 978-0802789686
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 9.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,951,891 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Every since I was a child I've loved nature and animals. I spent my time out of doors, picking flowers and scooping tadpoles out of ponds. So it's no wonder I studied biology and became an author myself of a favorite gift when I was young, a book about nature. I've expanded into other fascinating areas of nonfiction, too, especially historical topics of the American west, such as Lewis and Clark and Native Americans.
My work has given me the gift of travel to all sorts of fascinating places such as the Galapagos Island, the Costa Rican Rain Forest, and the famous cave at Lascaux, France, full of amazing ancient art that is no longer open to visitors.

To learn more about me and my books, visit my website, www.dorothyhinshawpatent.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Regal and Royal: Big Cats, January 26, 2011

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Big Cats (Hardcover)

Dorothy Hinshaw Patent once again pays homage to the animal kingdom in her very special way of instructing young readers about the varieties of families within the Big Cat group - lion, leopard, cheetah, tiger, snow leopard, cougar, and jaguar. Her method of writing is straightforward, never play down to her audience (ages 4 to 8 years). She offers distinctive behavior, both domestic and in the wild, along with characteristics of each of the big cats she discusses. But the crowning achievement of this book (as with many of her other books) her decision to partner with Montana watercolor artist Kendahl Jan Jubb who is widely collected and is found in distinguished collections throughout the country. Here her images of the big cats literally pounce off the page, so rich is her color palette and her attention to personality details, as only Jubb can capture. This is a fine book for children and an equally fine book for cat lovers and art lovers! Grady Harp, January 11