A Kids' Guide to Zoo Animals [Paperback]

Michelle Gilders (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Take science to the zoo with you with The Kids' Guide to Zoo Animals, the latest book from award-winning biologist and photographer Michelle Gilders, author of Why Am I Rare? The Kids' Guide to Zoo Animals details 200 popular zoo animals-all illustrated in full color-with information on their classification, description, diet, habitat, behavior and range. From Axolotl and Addax to Waterbuck and Zebra, The Kids' Guide to Zoo Animals takes budding biologists into a world populated by poisonous amphibians, huge herbivores, stealthy predators, colorful birds and primeval reptiles. Enter the world of the red tomato frog of Madagascar, whose brilliant color warns predators to keep their distance, or the world of the resourceful coyote, who is equally at home in the wilderness or in our own backyards. Discover how the Komodo dragon dispatches it prey and how African wild dogs raise their young. Find out who has a 45-cm-long purple tongue and who has 13 poisonous spines along its back. The educational and entertaining text provides useful background information on the role of zoos in conservation and what it really means for a species to be "threatened" or "endangered." Learn how to make your visit to the zoo more informative and how to track down that elusive animal you just have to see. More than 200 color photographs and maps illustrate this guide, making it a valuable reference for the home-and to take to the zoo.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Highly recommended." --CM Magazine

"An excellent library resource!" --CanLit for Kids

"An enjoyable exploration of the wondrous diversity of nature." --Children's Bookworld

Book Description

Benjamin Franklin Award for Reference nomination

Canadian Children's Book Centre Our Choice selection

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Red Deer Press; 1 edition (June 28, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0889953015
• ISBN-13: 978-0889953017
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,709,204 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An enjoyable exploration of the wondrous diversity of nature, November 7, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Kids' Guide to Zoo Animals (Paperback)

The Kids' Guide To Zoo Animals is a simple field guide featuring 200 popular zoo animals. Though intended for young adults, it is a reference that, although brief in descriptive information on each species, does not talk down to the reader and will appeal to all ages. Each animal listing covers one page and includes color photographs, and information concerning the animal's description, diet, habitat, behavior, IUCN status, and threats to the species' survival. An enjoyable exploration of the wondrous diversity of nature.

3 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't lump me with that lot..., July 19, 2007

By 

C. A. James (Reedsburg, WI United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Kids' Guide to Zoo Animals (Paperback)

Don't get me wrong, this is a book with a lot of potential; yet it is so drenched in evolutionary prattle, that I find myself retching on the poison (look up drench, it has two meanings).
Luckily, I didn't purchase this book; I checked it out from the library. I was excited about going to the zoo with my children and using it. That is until I came across a page with photographs of... people?!?! Yep, we're animals too, and the author was polite enough do a little write-up for us; complete with height, weight, lifespan, diet, habitat, etc. What surprised me the most was the description, "The human is a tall ape that walks on two feet. Although it appears largely hairless, it is typically covered with fine hairs on its body and longer hair on its head." Was the author writing this book for some "higher" species that we don't know about yet? I'm sorry but I am not a primate, my ancestors were not primates, chimpanzees, apes or anything of the sort. I am a descendant of Adam and Eve, just like everyone else. Needless to say this book will be going back to the library tomorrow where, unfortunately, someone else's children can be brain washed into believing they're only animals. And people wonder why we have school shootings. "The animals can kill each other and that's ok, so..."
Don't blame me.