Customer Reviews

Jungle Jack's Wackiest, Wildest, and Weirdest Animals in the World

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(46)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What a FUN book! This book is full of colorful pictures and fun facts about 30 animals from around the world. The book also includes a DVD with clips from Jack's adventures - bloopers, blunders, and behind-the-scenes looks. This book is a must have for any animal lover.

I love everything about this book. From the full-color pages of pictures and facts about each unique animal, to the layout and design of the book (each animal has one full page devoted to it), to the limitless opportunities to use the book to teach/learn about different animals and how God has created each one in its uniqueness. I can't wait to share the book with my kids - even now my daughter is begging to read it with me.

I love Jack Hanna and this is a great book for animal lovers.

Each page features a different wacky, wild or weird animal with some basic facts (what they eat, where they live and how big they get), some colour photographs, an explanation of what makes them wacky and a few interesting facts. Some of the animals covered are: Blue-Footed Booby, Platypus, Flamingo, Puffer Fish, Great White Shark, Tasmanian Devil and Naked Mole Rat. Some pages also include a little snippet called "Jungle Jack Adventures" which is a tidbit about Jack Hanna and that animal.

As if that isn't enough fun, the book comes with a DVD of some bloopers from Jack Hanna's Into the Wild. It even has bloopers from way back in the 80s. We get to see Jack Hanna's daughter, who helped on the show. My only disappointment was that it was too short.

The back of the book has a short glossary and the book is big, which allows for large photographs and a good size font for children to read. I'd recommend this book for ages 8-12 to enjoy the information and a reading level of perhaps 9+

Which furry omnivore smells like popcorn? What sea monster has three hearts? How did the blue-footed booby get its name? Learn the answers to these questions and many more!

Filled with large, full-color glossy photos, this book explores some of the lesser-known creatures in the animal kingdom. Thirty animals, from the okapi to the armadillo and the naked mole rat to the puffer fish, each receive a full page of attention. The format offers wild facts at a glance (where do they live, what do they eat and how big do they get), longer story boxes (including history and some of Jungle Jack's adventures) and text bubbles with fascinating details.

It's perfect for parents of children with short or varied attention spans. You can choose what and how much to read without feeling like you're missing large chunks of content. And the information is interesting to kids and adults alike!

Bonus: the book comes with a DVD of bloopers from Jack Hanna's show. My kids love both the book and the video!

I was excited to read this book, as my children (8,10,12) all love animals. I was not disappointed. The book is large in size and features big, colorful photos of the animals described. I kept the book in the kitchen and read about one animal each night after dinner. The kids really enjoyed learning facts about these animals and seeing the photos. Each page/animal can easily be read and discussed in 5 minutes.

I was suprised that this seemingly secular book was published by Christian publisher Thomas Nelson. However, there are a few references to "God really made this animal weird ..." and so forth.

The DVD in the front of the book, as others have noted, did seem like a bit of an afterthought and did not coordinate with the book. My girls did enjoy watching it, as it featured humorous vignettes of Jack Hanna interacting with animals. Buy the book for its own value - not for the DVD.

About three weeks ago we received a box. When we opened the box, it was as if we were opening a treasure chest! And what was this treasure? Why, nothing less than The Wackiest, Wildest, Weirdest Animals in the World by Jack Hanna.

This colorful book is full of familiar and not-so-familiar wildlife. Divided into three categories, it begins with wacky animals, moves on to wild animals, and then ends with weird animals. Each page gives a synopsis of why each animal fits into its particular category and also includes a section listing the animal's preferred food, habitat, and typical adult size. Scattered across the pages are other fun facts about the animals. Although the book does not go into deep detail about the animals, it definitely gives a great introduction which I think is an inspiration to learn more.

Tucked into the front cover of the book we found a DVD with bloopers from Jack Hanna's Into the Wild. I confess that we have not yet watched the DVD, nor have we ever watched Jack Hanna's show. But, if the quality at all resembles that of this book, I can see that we would be easily hooked.

This book grabbed the attention of all three of my kids(ages 2, 5, and 8 - ranging from non-reader to prolific reader) and has not let go. They have read and reread each page, pouring over the full-page color photographs of each animal. They have learned about strange animals they never knew existed like the echidna, one of only two monotremes (egg laying mammals). They have also learned new facts about familiar animals, such as the fact that a lion's roar can be heard up to five miles away!

My children give this book a hearty endorsement, as do I. It is fun education at its finest, and we all highly recommend it.

I ordered "The Wackiest Wildest Weirdest Animals in the World" by Jack Hanna to read with my five year old daughter, and we have had fun reading it together. The book has a lion on the cover and one of the 30 animals featured is a lion, so that made may daughter especially happy since lions are her favorite animals.

She enjoyed the other animals too. After we finished reading the other night, I went into the other room and I heard her yell, "Mommy, come and look at the naked rat." She was referring to the last animal in the book, the naked mole rat.

Each of the animals is featured on one page. There is a box of a couple facts, another box that contains what they eat, where they live, and how big they get. There is a description of the animal that is a couple paragraphs long, and several color photographs. It is a good length to read to someone as young as my daughter, and I think it is a good length for those a bit older who read on their own. There are also little side boxes with stories from Jack's adventures.

Overall, I've had a good time reading it to my little girl, and she enjoyed it too. We both learned some things as well. There is also a DVD that comes with the book. (Note that the plastic DVD holder that is glued to the inside of the book came off and was a bit sticky right after getting the book) The DVD contains bloopers from Jack Hanna's television show. I've always liked Jack Hanna, and I enjoyed the DVD. Since it contained bloopers, my daughter thought it was a bit boring. I enjoyed it more than she did. She enjoyed the book more than the DVD.

Reviewed by Alain Burrese, J.D., author of Hard-Won Wisdom From the School of Hard Knocks.

The primary consumer of this little gem in my house is my (just) 8 year old son. The book has been a hit and my two younger kids like looking at the pictures while big brother tells them about the animals.

Pros:
1. Fun, short and concise description and story about each animal. Easy to read and no daunting.
2. Large text to make less intimidating.
3. Fun pictures.
4. Nice mix of animals and stories so it is easy to engage.

Cons:
1. None really except for the fact that the DVD is only slightly amusing. The book steals the show.

Yesterday the UPS man dropped off a package on my front porch. I was excited to tear into it & find this book. The shiny, colorful hardback was well received by my whole family. We were all anxious to read through the book and watch the DVD of bloopers from Jack Hanna's wildlife TV show. Neither the book or the DVD left us disappointed!

Each double page spread includes vivid, crisp pictures of a different animal and all sorts of interesting information about it. Did you know that a sloth only poops once a week? Did you know that a baboon's bright red bottom is actually a thick callous (read: seat-cushion!) and not bare skin? Did you know that a hyena "laughs" when it's afraid...and that is a warning signal to RUN! I bet you didn't know that a platypus is venomous! These were some of my kids' favorite details.

The DVD was about 20 minutes long and included vintage clips from the show's early years as well as more recent ones. It was very funny to watch.

All in all, I was quite pleased with this book! I am a Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger. You can find out more about that here: http://brb.thomasnelson.com/

This large, colorful book highlights weird and wacky animals that should captivate young people. The animals include the blue-footed booy, the baboon, the emperor penguin, the playpus, the wallaby, the hyena, the flamingo, the binturong, the echidna, the puffer fish, the black rhinoceros, the african elephant, the great white shark, the cape buffalo, the brown bear, the lion, the leopard, the tasmanian devil, the anaconda, the piranha, the bongo, the giant anteater, the armadillo, the sloth, the ostrich, the hissing cockroach, the octopus, the okapi, the chameleon and the naked mole rat.

Each animal is represented with several color phtos, along with information on what they eat, where they live, how big they get and what makes them weird.

The book also includes a DVD with bloopers from the Jack Hanna's Into the Wild show. A nice book for children to flip through and to learn about some unusual, and some familiar animals.

This book strikes a nice balance between information and fun for young animal lovers. With several paragraphs and key facts about each of approximately thirty animals, it is not intended as a comprehensive guide, but is just right for elementary age kids. It has plenty of large, color pictures and informs without boring. The dvd is a collection of outtakes and bloopers from various Jack Hanna programs. Honestly, it didn't seem to really interest my 8 or 3 year old, but I thought it was ok as an extra.