Julie Beer (text) and Andy Smith (illustrator) Animal FACTopia: Follow the Trail of 400 Beastly Facts, Walker Books, April 2023, 206 pp., RRP $25.99 (hbk), ISBN 9781913750725
Julie Beer and Andy Smith have devised a book that just won’t be read from beginning to end because it’s not that kind of thing they’re doing. They want to let us know of all the strange and odd and funny and exotic and surprising facts there are about the animal world—and connect all these facts up somehow.
Beginning with the weight of a newborn elephant (38 human babies’ worth) we are quickly looking at a turkey’s snook, and learning how hot a Monarch butterfly must be before it can fly. How these fact connect up is something readers will discover by getting into this book.
Did you know that most male cats are left-handed? Well, left-pawed. Each page opens to a bright new colour with photos and drawings that inform and enliven the funny, addictive facts if you venture far into this book. There is a useful index at the back if you need to check on any animal mentioned in the book. This is kind of (the young person’s equivalent of a) coffee table book every child would like to have.
Reviewed by Kevin Brophy
