Apex Predators: The World's Deadliest Hunters, Past and Present Book Review by Steve Jenkins


Written by Steve Jenkins

Published by Clarion Books in 2017

ISBN: 978-0544671607

Plot Summary: Predators come in all shapes and sizes in the animal kingdom and the author highlights several apex predators from both the modern day and the past. Each of the predators has a diagram that shows their approximate length in comparison to the human. There are facts that are given for many species including both land and water predators. The book begins with the modern day predators like the great white shark and the electric eel and then starts the journey through the past with everything from the killer pig which died 18 million years ago to the Anomalocaris which was a giant shrimp that died out 500 million years ago. The book ends with something that will be sure to delight younger readers as the author does a hypothetical fight between predators of the past and predators of the present on both land and sea. Comparing who might win is a great way to get readers thinking deeply and go back and learn more about the predators to see who is more adapted to winning a fight in the survival of the fittest.  

Analysis: With everything from the spider like Trigonotarbid to the giant predator Tyrannosaurus Rex, there is sure to be an animal that piques the interest of readers in this illustrated book.  The text is very plain and actually doesn't have that many facts in it. The illustrations and diagrams take up more than 50 percent of each page which helps the reader visualize what these animals might have been like. This is a great book for learning the beginning facts and information about each of the these deadly creatures and should help lead the readers into more information gathering about their favorite creatures. The author does a good job of mixing up the size and species that he highlights and makes sure to throw in some that are not well known because of their size. The predator face off is the highlight of the book as he gives 4 scenarios that could happen if the time periods would have aligned for each of the predators. There is much to learn and much to love about this well written book that will be sure to engage readers who like to use their imagination. 

Reviews: 
Kirkus Review 
Face-to-face introductions to over two dozen creatures it would be better to avoid.

Labeling each predator as either extinct or modern-day, Jenkins arranges his paper-collage portraits—most of them rendered, as usual, with seemingly miraculous realism—in no readily obvious order. Starting off with the cruel-beaked “terror bird” (extinct) of South America and toothy views of a gaping Siberian tiger and T. Rex, he proceeds past African wild dogs (“some of the most successful predators on earth, with nine out of ten hunts ending in a kill”), the electric eel, killer pig Daedon, 48-foot-long (14.5 m) Titanoboa, and like threats to the spiderlike Trigonotarbid, just an inch long (2.5 cm) but 400 million years ago one of the largest predators on land. Then, in true browser-rousing fashion, he proposes several matchups, like the Siberian tiger vs. Utahraptor. Place your bets! Each creature comes with descriptive notes and a small silhouette posed next to a human (“The deadliest predator”) for scale. Measurements for each creature are provided in first English and then metric units. The bibliography includes an unremarkable assortment of reference works and websites.

No red—but lots of tooth and claw on display. (Informational picture book. 6-9)

Connections: Learn more about predators and their prey at the Houston Museum of Natural Science 

More research and books on Predators
Ultimate Predatorpedia: The Most Complete Predator Reference Ever by Christina Wilsdon 
ISBN 978-1426331787

Predator Ecology: Evolutionary Ecology of the Functional Response by John DeLong 
ISBN 978-0192895516

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Free Lunch Book Review by Rex Ogle

Image
Written By Rex Ogle Published by Norton Young Readers in 2019 ISBN: 978-1324003601 Plot Summary: This is a memoir of Rex Ogle when he was in 6th grade. He was enrolled in the free lunch program at school as he was living in poverty at the time. The story begins with his mom Luciana in the grocery store as they are shopping for food but they only have so many dollars in food stamps that they can use. Rex remembers how angry he is that he never gets to choose food that he likes and both he and his mom are embarrassed as they didn't have enough money for the food that they chose so they only walk out with one bag of groceries even though they had chosen much more than that. Rex is anxious about going to school as he doesn't want the other kids to know that he was on the free lunch program and when he questions his mom she beats him and gives him a black eye which he has to explain away at the school. Rex has to announce that he has free lunch in the line which embarasses him even
Read more

Scythe by Neal Shusterman Book Review

Image
  Written By: Neal Shusterman Published By: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in 2017 ISBN: 978-1442472433 Plot Summary: The year is 2042 and artificial intelligence has become alive and thinks for itself and has created a network called the Thunderhead. As it knows all, it has figured out how to keep humans alive indefinitely. The problems of how to feed and shelter everyone is still an issue so a job is created called being a Scythe. They are required to kill a certain number of people to balance the scales. Two teenagers are training to be a Scythe and their names are Citra and Rowan. They are supposed to both be trained and then one is chosen while the other goes back to their normal life. Other Scythes decide though that whoever wins has to kill the other as their first kill. Their trainer pretends to kill himself so they are sent to train under other scythes. Citra finds out that their original trainer is still alive and creates a plan to make everything work out for h
Read more

The Surrender Tree by Margarita Engle Book Rev

Image
   Written by Margarita Engle  Published by Square Fish in 2010  ISBN: 978-0312608712 Plot Summary: The book is based on Rosario Castellanos Castellanos who is a famous person in Cuban American history. She was a freed slave who works as a nurse for the rebels who are fighting against the Spanish in the mid to late 1800's in Cuba. The poems are free verse and are written from the perspective of 4 different people: Rosa, Jose her husband, a slave hunter named Lieutenant Death in the story, and a girl named Sylvia. The novel is written in 5 different parts that cover Rosa's story from childhood to adulthood.  The first part is titled "The Names of the Flowers" and is talks about how Rosa grows up in the field amd learns about the healing properties of different plants and herbs from the women. Rosa helps to heal runaway slaves who have been beaten after running away and this is where she meets Teniente Muerte otherwise known as Lieutenant Death. The Lieutenant doesn'
Read more