Creatures of the Deep

In one of four titles launching the Real-Life Monsters series, Rake rates 10 ocean-dwelling animals with extreme characteristics according to size, power, strength, aggression, and deadliness. In last place, the lowly blobfish earns only six points (“The blobfish’s saggy, droopy flesh means it doesn’t have much muscle”), while the fabulously named “sarcastic fringehead” (after the Greek word sarkasmos) transforms from a mild-looking fish into a viperlike horror, earning 10 points for aggression alone. Photographs of each animal fill the pages, augmented with occasional diagrams—readers won’t soon forget the terrifying, gaping jaws of creatures like the anglerfish and goblin shark. Simultaneously available: Creatures of the Rain Forest, Creepy, Crawly Creatures, and Scaly, Slippery Creatures. Ages 8–12. (Nov.)