A very iffy, patchy read – this aims to be a very child-friendly encyclopaedia about animal life. It's very child-friendly, but if teachers end up scorning it then I wouldn't be too surprised. The visuals contain a lot of fine photography, but the animals themselves have been clipped out so the beasts are in isolation, been given added cartoonish details, and sometimes needless speech bubbles. Birds photoshopped onto a hedge really do look cheaply done with this approach, and everything else loses natural context. But the text is where this is let down – all in an approach intended to make it child-friendly, randomised and never a slog to be browsed through in small doses.

To that end we start with a bit about the author, and then we get told it's time for his top ten favourite animals – except it's not, it's just one of them, before we're on to body types and the different kind of critter there are out there. Bird anatomy, Peter Scott, invertebrates, biodiversity defined – it's a right hodge-podge. The fact that 'further reading elsewhere' box-outs come midway through a mini-essay and not when they're finished is a further annoyance.

There is still nothing incorrect about this, and we're told the large font and great use of blank page is designed to make this dyslexia-friendly, in keeping with the author's own reading difficulty. But here the pick and mix approach, allowing a lot of important stuff to get a passing mention too late (evolution – page 390ish, for one), is just a bit too much. This isn't as fun as it seems to think it is (black and white throughout doesn't help there), and certainly isn't as coherent as it knows it ought to have been. Three stars is generally to highlight the dyslexia-friendliness, rather than actual qualities.

I enjoyed Hamza's previous book so I was very excited for this one, it would be great for anyone wanting to learn new information about animals, i learnt lots of new facts.

Loved this book. A really accessible, fun book to discover interesting facts about a huge range of animals.
Will definitely buy a copy for the classroom.

Hamza Yasmin is already becoming a bit of a legend as a wildlife film maker and conservationist.

Hamza’s Wild World book is a joy from start to finish - packed to the brim with facts galore about a multitude of animals, birds, sea creatures, insects and their habits and habitats.

Full of fascinating information to build up the skills of a naturalist and activities to develop awareness and skills too.

Interviews with people who work with wildlife add another dimension and expertly highlighting potential careers for the young to consider

This book is aimed at younger readers 7-12 but it feels much more - a family book or a book for young and old. As someone who works in education I cannot recommend this book enough - a great non- fiction book to dip into, share with others and learn so much from

Louise Forshaw’s illustrations add another level of fun and magic

A great gift or classroom book for learning from and enjoying the world of wildlife - Highly recommended