The World of Weird Animals
Explore this fun, fact-based, browsable series brought to you by Random House Children’s Books!
Discover some of the weirdest, wackiest, and most unique critters on Earth!
It’s a big wide world, full of critters that are larger than life! Sure, there are the usual suspects – blue whales, polar bears, elephant seals – but others will take you by surprise. The World of Weird Animals is a nonfiction series about the bizarre and beneficial creatures that inhabit the planet and will help build student knowledge about the world.
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Learn how to use The World of Weird Animals books as mentor texts and a springboard to research. Inside the guide, you’ll find activities that take the books across curriculum areas, from language arts to music and from geography to science. You’ll also find classroom discussion questions, links to other resources, and much more!
Big as a Giant Snail
Go big or go home! Meet the biggest weirdos on Earth in this colossally cool collection. It’s a big wide world, full of critters that are larger than life! The giant snail, for instance, or the ginormous Atlas moth. Big as a Giant Snail covers a wide variety of species, while subtly delving into misconceptions and stereotypes associated with size. Best of all? These tall tales are totally true!
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Gross as a Snot Otter
Meet slippery, slimy snot otters; gulls that projectile-vomit on command; fish that communicate via flatulence; chipmunks that cultivate healthy forests by pooping seeds wherever they go; and their charmingly revolting friends. There’s more to these skin-crawling creatures than meets the eye, and sometimes it’s the very things that make us gag that allow these animals to survive in the wild.
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Cute as an Axolotl
Cats of Instagram meets National Geographic in this hilarious picture book about nature’s cutest weirdos. Get to know feathery-gilled axolotls, shy pygmy hippos, poisonous blue dragons, armored pangolins, and other animals who are not just cute but have also adapted in remarkable ways to survive in their unique environments. Cute is so much more than clickbait kittens and Insta-pups!
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What Makes a Monster?
Some people think monsters are the stuff of nightmares and scary movies, but they can also be found in the world around us. Animals like aye-ayes, goblin sharks, and vampire bats may look scary, but they pose no threat to humans. Others, such as the prairie dog, seem innocent, yet their behavior causes goose bumps. What makes a monster? Read this book to find out, if you dare!
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Pink is for Blobfish
This nonfiction picture book will introduce you to the weirdest, wildest, pinkest critters in the animal kingdom. Sure, pink is the color of princesses and bubblegum, but it’s also the color of monster slugs and poisonous insects. Ultra-intelligent dolphins, naked mole rats, and bizarre, bloated blobfish are pink, too. Isn't it about time to rethink pink?
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About the Author
Jess Keating
Jess Keating is a zoologist turned author who writes with the sort of wisdom you can only get from multiple crocodile bites and skunk sprays. At the age of eight, she started a library in her room (mainly so she could charge her brother late fees). You can find her online at jesskeating.com.
About the Illustrator
David DeGrand
David DeGrand has been drawing cartoons since he was a kid. When he’s not drawing goofy pictures of gross stuff, he plays video games, watches old cartoons and weird movies, and collects toys and books. His biggest goal is to create something his son will find cool someday.