Deadliest Animals on the Planet

by National Geographic Kids

Overview

Kids love the Cutest Animals on the Planet, so for daring readers, the animal kingdom’s fiercest, fastest, and most dangerous creatures are sure to thrill!

But don’t be fooled. Even tiny animals like cute little jewel-toned frogs or massive, sleepy-looking, plant-eating hippos can pack a deadly punch. Earth’s oceans, forests, grasslands, deserts, and even cities are home to a wide variety of amazing animals with crazy-cool slaying skills that help them hunt for food and defend themselves. In this lively and browsable book, readers find out where these impressive creatures live, what makes them tick, how they beat the odds in harsh habitats, and just what makes them so deadly.

Meet the Nile crocodile and learn about its astonishing bite force. Discover the elephant seal’s deafening roar. Explore how the jaguar’s speed and night vision help it ambush prey. Encounter enormous harpy eagles, bone-crushing snakes, venomous spiders, and more. Jaw-dropping photos and surprising facts bring readers up close and personal to the world’s most fearsome—and fascinating!—animals.

Like Cutest Animals on the Planet, the previous book in this new series, this often humorous, snackable content provides great entry points for readers of all levels and lots of fascinating facts to share with friends and family.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781426373183
Publisher:	Disney Publishing Group
Publication date:	12/19/2023
Pages:	216
Sales rank:	126,890
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 6.40(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	1080L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

JENNIFER SZYMANSKI is a freelance science writer and editor. She specializes in writing materials that support both teachers and students in meeting national and state science standards, but she considers her "real" job to be helping students of all ages connect science to everyday life. She lives with her family and pets near Pittsburgh and can usually be found either outside or with her nose in a good book.

Editorial Reviews

02/01/2024

Gr 2–6—Grizzlies, cougars, pythons, barracudas, and many familiar predators are included in this resource, but it distinguishes itself by also introducing readers to a vast array of lesser-known animals. At over 200 pages, the abundance of information is best absorbed as a browsable read. Each critter is given one page with a paragraph-length entry explaining its method of hunting for prey or warding off enemies with several types of defenses. Teeth, claws, horns, and hooves are among the weapons employed, and the snappy writing highlights the ways that nature supplies wildlife with amazing survival tools. The high-resolution photographs provide a rare up-close look at creatures that humans can't often observe in the wild. The flannel mouth caterpillar, shocking pink dragon millipede, and assassin bugs are just a few of the animals whose colors and patterns are brilliantly revealed. There is also a sufficient gross factor to keep readers engaged—the bird-dropping spider that looks like bird excrement and the hogfish that turns itself into knots and emits a secret slime. Domesticated creatures, such as house cats, cows, and horses, are also recognized for strengths readers won't be familiar with. Most animals are presented individually, though several sections look at broader topics, such as poison vs. venom or real predators vs. fakes. An index is provided for this rich compendium of facts. VERDICT Impressive in its wide coverage of creatures, this stunningly illustrated book should find a welcome spot in all libraries, encouraging readers to do further research.—Gloria Koster

School Library Journal

2023-09-22
An album of animals that are best admired from afar.

From toothy great white sharks to bad-tempered koalas, Szymanski introduces dozens of different animals through striking, close-up color photographs. The images usually cover a full page and sometimes three-quarters of a double-page spread. Each animal gets a paragraph of text describing its offensive or defensive weapons. There’s no obvious organization, but occasionally a spread will feature a group with common characteristics such as large appetites, powerful bites, or dangerous body parts. Some of these animals are deadly to humans—toxic to eat or capable of inflicting a mortal wound—but many would more accurately be labeled dangerous. Readers might not expect to encounter some of the creatures, like dragonflies and pelicans, both of which have prodigious appetites, and prey with highly developed defenses that can make a stink, like tamanduas and skunks, or fulmars, a type of seabird with oily vomit. There are carnivores and vegetarians; land, sea, and sky dwellers; and familiar and unfamiliar creatures from all over the world. This work is a browser’s delight, with a helpful index that includes animal groups (birds, the cat family, etc.) as well as individual species, for easy access. Fans of the earlier volume, Cutest Animals on the Planet (2021), will surely want to explore this follow-up title.

Danger! This topic is irresistible. (index, photo credits) (Nonfiction. 7-12)

Kirkus Reviews