Member Reviews
Utterly adorable and clever with illustrations that simply pop off the page - what an amazing way to engage the audience while helping them learn new things! A wonderful book about the wonderfully weird world around us.
Who Are You Calling Weird? A Celebration of Weird and Wonderful Animals by Marilyn Singer does celebrate things that are different as well as showing being different is a wonderful thing and special. This book is beautifully illustrated as well as educational talking about a few animals that are wonderfully weird helping us learn what makes them special. Just because something is unusual or different doesn’t really mean we should call it weird, but we should realize it is special in the way it is different. We learn to celebrate such animals as the green fur of a three-toed sloth and the Pacific barreleye fish which has eyes that are upward allowing it to watch for prey in a special way. This book goes in to great detail perfect for young readers with illustrations they will enjoy.
A very cute book about some of the strangest (or unique, I should say) creatures living on our planet earth. Colorful and adorable illustrations are realistic enough to recognize the animals' true forms. The information about the animals only point out their most distinctive features (i.e. appearance, adaptions to the environment, or their habits) which is not sufficient or conclusive enough for some readers. But for the purpose of reading about unique animals, this is definitely a fun book to pick up for readers of all age. The author added how human, being unique and intelligent, could help to preserve these animals and their habitats. Educational, entertaining, and interesting, I truly enjoyed reading "Who Are You Calling Weird."
I received this arc from NetGalley for an honest review. This book is an excellent j nonfiction book for kids who are curious about animals and love weird animal facts. The illustrations are bright and colorful, and the information is minimal so that readers won't lose interest.
Interesting book with fun fact son some weird animals in this planet. Illustrations are colourful and wonderful
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the eARC
Who Are You Calling Weird?: A Celebration of Weird & Wonderful Animals was a fun books to read with my kids. We enjoyed it. I give it four stars.
A big thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for the ARC. I am voluntarily reviewing this book. This is a children's non fiction book. I loved the unique animals! The facts were interesting. The graphics were delightful. I have 2 issues. One the verbage seems a little overwhelming for a small child, but can be made to work. Not really sure what age group they were shooting for. My second issue was the pagination/spacing, I looked at a few reviews and no one else seemed to have this issue. My pages were completely mixed up! Maybe it was because I was reading it on my kindle. Regardless the book was good. I give it a 4. I think most kids and parents would enjoy.
This one was just okay for me. On the plus side, the book contains a lot of information and fun facts on less commonly written about animals. Little ones who love gobbling up facts will probably really enjoy this one.
On the other hand, the book seems a bit long considering the writing style. It feels like a book that should be read to someone, but it's definitely not one you'd want to tackle in one sitting! Maybe it would work for new readers who are doing the read aloud thing where reading about one animal a night might work.
I also really did not like the illustrations here. This book is about unusual animals, animals that are not usually featured in kids' books. I would have far preferred to see realistic art or photos to go along with all the factual information here.
So this is just an average book for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for providing me with a DRC of this book.
This is an amazing educational book that kid's will love, especially boys and reluctant readers, and it's non-fiction. The book is a celebration of strange weird animals that actually exist on our enchanting planet today.
The book highlights 21 unique and interesting creatures from all over the globe and delves into their behaviour, diet, habitats and even some folklore that has been handed down about them for generations. Here's the featured guest list of these incredible animals:
* Aye-Aye
* Pacific Barreleye
* Dumbo Octopus
* Star-nosed Mole
* Proboscis Monkey
* Hammer-headed Bat
* Platypus
* Mwanza Flat-headed Agama
* Hairy Frog
* Boxer Crab
* Pangolin
* Lowland Streaked Tenrec
* Helmeted Hornbill
* Narwhal
* Naked Mole-rat
* Hoatzin
* Kiwi
* Leafy Sea Dragon
* Hairy Frogfish
* Three-toed Sloth
* Human
Kids will love learning about these oddities in nature. The illustrations are beautiful and so enrich the biography of each animal splendidly. "Who Are You Calling Weird?" should be in every classroom and elementary school library and I guarantee it will fly off the shelf. It would be a fantastic research book also. This fun, very interesting book, will pique interests and have kids flipping through the pages to learn more and more about these marvellous creatures. I highly, highly recommend this book.
A very interesting story that was not able to sustain my attention for the totality of the narrative. An admirable attempt.
Wonderful book! Loads of information about unusual animals. Students are always asking me for information about strange animals. This book will be well used and will probably prompt even more questions! The cover also attracts the eye and will help students gravitate towards this book.
This book was so fun and amazing. The illustrations just make it one of the best animal books around. It would be nice if a real picture of each animal was added. This reader had Google open to see the real images compared to the beautifully illustrated one. Animals chosen were unique, and not found in most other books, the writing approachable for any age, and the progression set at a nice pace. Very well done and sure to be loved by lots of library goers.
I learned so much from this book! I didn't know that farmers really fear Aye-Aye's, a sort of lemur that taps his middle finger on trees to catch his prey using echolocation. So somewhere an Aye-Aye must have flipped the bird on a farmer!
The images are just amazing. Great attention to the drawings and the backgrounds, and very unique. I've never seen the animals depicted like this, but they're still recognisable. My favourite ones are the Boxer Crab and the Leafy Sea Dragon, so cute and fascinating. The bits of information are just right, not too long or too difficult.
One of my new favourites!
I found myself looking at the Internet images of these animals- just couldn't get enough of their wonderful weirdness. My top 5 are: Lemurs, Dumbo Octopus, Boxer Crab, Hoatzin, and the animal I am particularly partial to- three-toed Sloth! You are really spoilt for choice with this marvellous book.
You learn about the behaviour, diet, and habitat of 21 unusual creatures. They are all unique, but their oddities serve their purpose. Take the 21st creature described in this book- it walks upright, lacks feathers or fur, and makes most peculiar sounds. Yes, it's Human.
Beautiful quirky illustrations, informative text. I would have loved a book like this when I was a child. It would make a great addition to any school library.
Thank you to Net Galley and Quarto Publishing Group for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.
This is one of those non-fiction books that reluctant readers (especially boys) will love. The weirder the better, and this book shows some. There are animals that I had never heard of and some that I had seen in zoos and aquariums, but I still learned something about most of the animals highlighted. My grandson absolutely loved this book. He kept asking about the pictures and as I read he would point to the illustrations and make comments about what he was hearing. My granddaughter (2.5 yrs. old) thought some of them were "cute" but most she kept saying "Yucky".
From the Pacific barreleye with its see-through head to the Hairy Frogfish that's spine has added tentacle that look like worms, this book provides an introduction to some of the world’s most unusual animals. Some are a little more well known such as a platypus, three-toed sloth or kiwi, but there was still information about those animals that I did not know. We learn that each odd behaviour or peculiar visual characteristic has a purpose such as for hunting, camouflage, protection etc. Learning about each animal’s behaviour, diet, habitat, and some human beliefs about the creature is punctuated by a large illustration of the animal. My one big disappointment is that there are no actual photographs of any of the animals, a sure 5 star is that had been present. Of course I would be remiss not to mention the focus on conservation and how each animals’ survival may be endangered and the reasons why. This is a fun and interesting book to introduce kids to some of the weird animals in the world and pique their interest in learning more about adaptations, environmental awareness and animal protection. A sure winner in a school or class library.
Who are you Calling Weird by Marilyn Singer is an examination of unusual if not "weird" animals. Each animal's spread includes information about them including bright and colorful, eye-catching art. The need for more animal books and books that focus on lesser-known animals is great at my public library and this attractive collection of animals (including the super-popular Aye-Aye and Narwhal) will be in demand. One criticism - the maturity level of the illustrations reads young but the text is a little more advanced. A bigger font would match the illustrations better.
Super adorable information text for young children. The illustrations are gorgeous. I liked the details about each animal, the fun way that each animal's uniqueness is shown. When this was read to a class of Yr 2's (aged 6-7), they found the entire thing entertaining and asked so many questions, which is exactly what you want from this kind of book.
Who Are You Calling Weird? Is a book celebrating strange and wonderful animals. There are 21 featured in the book and it focuses on their unique features or behavior. There are no real photos of the animals, just illustrations, but from what I know of some of these animals, the illustrations are a pretty good representation of them. In the end, there is nothing wrong with being weird and we all have our unique features that we need in order to be us. An interesting book with a great message.
I received a free e-copy of this book in order to write this review, I was not otherwise compensated. This book was released in October 2018 from Quarto Publishing Group.
Who Are You Calling Weird: A Celebration of Weird & Wonderful Animals by Marilyn Singer is a wonderful children's book that celebrates the weird but wonderful creatures that are hidden away in Earth’s forests, caves, and oceans. These animals might look or behave in peculiar ways but, every oddity serves a purpose. From the green fur of a three-toed sloth, to the pink and wiggly appendage of the star-nosed mole, there’s something new to marvel at on every page. As well as finding out about each animal’s behavior, diet, and habitat, readers will also discover the folk beliefs about the creature.
Who Are You Calling Weird is a delightful book, both visually and intellectually. My favorite bits of history and science have always centered on the weird and wonderful, and this book covered most of my favorite delightfully add creatures, and some that I had somehow missed. I think the combination of narrative fact sharing and lovely images come together in a way that will capture the interest and imagination of most readers, as it certainly captured mine. I love that fairly well know odd animals were covered, such as the aye-aye and three toed sloth. However, my favorite (the pangolin) and some less know creatures were given their due as well. I was extremely glad to see some sea creatures I had never known about before explored, and information that was new to me on some creatures that I thought I knew well.
Who Are You Calling Weird is an engaging book that can capture the reader's imagination. It inspired me to look a bit closer at some animals I thought I knew, and hopefully it will inspire young readers to explore the natural world a bit closer, and with a bit of wonder and urge to research more.
I love the illustrations in this book, and it's always fun to read and learn more about the "weirder" animals! I think many students will enjoy reading this and can't wait to add it to my library!