Animals of the World

Animals of the World is part of the “Quick-Reference Atlases” series by Crabtree Publishing. Like other books in this series, Animals of the World is, to quote the books’ back covers, filled with “high-interest” tidbits of information and “eye-catching images”. Unfortunately, the claim that “useful maps and text provide readers with easy-to-access” information is less accurate.

The series follows the standard nonfiction format, including a table of contents, glossary, index, and a short list of books and websites with further information on the topics.

Animals of the World is organized by continents and regions, including the Amazon rainforest, the Galapagos Islands, and the Great Barrier Reef. Good, but brief, information and colourful photos provide information about animals and their habitats. The index is helpful if readers are looking for a specific animal, although the information about each animal is very limited.

I have several concerns about Animals of the World and the other books in this series, all of which are probably the result of trying to present too much information in too small a format.
The book is divided into 25 chapters. Included is a map of the region of that chapter, plus an insert of a globe with the region identified on the globe.

Imagine a one-page chapter on “The Everglades”. A map of the lower portion of Florida takes up about a quarter of the page. It has a label on the map locating “The Everglades”, plus two small captioned photos. On the top portion of that map is an insert of a globe showing the western hemisphere. An arrow points towards the Florida peninsula. All of this on a quarter page. Not reader-friendly no matter how good your eyesight is.

Throughout the book, some of the text size and the photo size is so small that it is difficult to read or examine details. Compounding the problem, some of the text is printed over a dark coloured background, and some tiny photos are printed right into the gutter of the book.

Animals of the World does include some colourful photos with tidbits of information that may suit students who are browsing for a general interest book about animals. If, however, you are looking for a research book about animals, you can do much better than this.