cover image Astonishing Animals

Astonishing Animals

Anita Ganeri, illus. by Fiammetta Dogi and Dan Cole. Bonnier/Little Bee (S&S, dist.), $12.99 (18p) ISBN 978-1-4998-0016-6

First in the Record Breakers series, this guide (first published in the U.K. in 2013) is devoted to animals that possess exceptional predatory skills, size, senses, intelligence, and life cycles, among others. More than a dozen animals crowd each spread, paired with brief, informal tidbits about them (a sharp-nosed frog “can leap 100 times its own body length—that’s a long jump record!”). Flaps lift to reveal additional animals, while some low-key pop-ups spice up the pages (in one, a kangaroo joey peers out of its mother’s pouch). With an array of zoological trivia and a mix of illustration styles that range from naturalistic to cartoony, there’s plenty to intrigue animal lovers. Available simultaneously: Mechanical Marvels. Ages 5–10. (Mar.)