Introduces kids to some animals they've probably never heard of, and tells you where they're found and how they live. It feels like you're reading about mythological creatures, but the maps included showing where these strange creatures are found, and the writing is very engaging toward kids. The author sounds childlike and fascinated.

Creatures so odd that no one can really believe they exist. I could share some of these details but that would ruin the fun. Read it. You will like it. ( )

This reference guide to unusual animals takes a dictionary approach, listing a variety of animals from A-Y, including information, sketches, maps and a lot of humor. I thought that the choice to use drawings instead of photographs for a nonfiction book about especially unique animals would be problematic, but it turned out that I loved the lifelike drawings and was just as fascinated or grossed-out as I would have been by photographs! ( )

A fascinating and fun collection of profiles of 50 of the oddest critters that inhabit Planet Earth. Hearst injects some great touches of humor to go along with the excellent information. Nooderman's line drawings in washed colors are a wonderful complement to the text. ( )

This is another one of those tongue-in-cheek nonfiction titles Chronicle seems to specialize in. Each full spread features a different unusual animal with humorous commentary, facts, and sometimes poetry. A few creatures have only one page instead of two.

I'd say it's more a graphic novel/novelty book than a nonfiction title. The little jokes, poems and so on made me confused as to which parts were true. It's blurbed by Lemony Snicket and the subtitle says "a mostly accurate account of some of earth's strangest animals." I didn't agree that all the animals were unusual, but as the author says it's really just the creatures he thought were weird.

Some things like the Axolotl are pretty weird. Others, like the Bar-Headed Goose are impressive, but not what I'd call unusual. I wouldn't have called the wombat unusual, but that was before I encountered THE WOMBAT SKEPTICS, so now I'd say it warrants inclusion. I'd heard of most of the creatures, but I read a lot of animal nonfiction so that's not surprising. Series type nonfiction books I mean. The last time I showed kindergarteners a picture of a narwhal they said it was a unicorn, so...yeah.

There's also information on classification, contrasting lists of ordinary and strange creatures, an index, a section on conservation, and two pages listing the kickstarter supporters, author's websites, CD of songs about unusual creatures, etc. There are no sources for the information included in the book, although presumably there are some on one of the author's websites perhaps.

I thought the sudden break into conservation tips was weird and I personally prefer photographs in nature/animal books, but as I said earlier I wouldn't consider this a strictly nonfiction book, not the kind of thing you'd read for a report or to learn more about a specific creature.

Verdict: This will be popular with kids who like weird and wacky facts and want a nice, oversized book to dip into and exclaim over and giggle and tell their friends that wombats have square poop. Just for this, it's worth adding.

ISBN: 9781452104676; Published 2012 by Chronicle; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Added to the libra