Big swamp beasts - Monstrously muddy swamp beasts facts by Michael Cox and Chuck Whelon

Bloomsbury, 2013. ISBN9781408835760. Paperback. 96p.
Highly recommended for 8-10 year olds. Themes: Swamps, Water animals, river habitats. This information book convincingly connects the reader with a plethora of scary, slimy, slithering swamp creatures living in the Amazon, Africa, America and Asia.From exploding toads, crushing anacondas, sizzling electric eels to bodacious bullfrogs the young student is able to access a myriad of facts. The introduction invites the reader to come in to the scary, mysterious and treacherous swamps to meet the most awesome beasts!
Shorty punchy paragraphs, lists of funny facts and comments directed to the reader are engaging and thrilling. Michael Cox's writing style draws the reader into the scary world of swamp creatures, the use of alliterative phrases add to the excitement. Punchy headings and captions - Africa's Most Notorious Serial Killer -The Hippo adds richness to the narrative writing style. Each double-page spread is appealing with the bold lime green background, fascinating photos, fun captions, cartoons (a crocodile hitching a ride home) and cutaway illustrations.This fast-paced read includes animal statistics, maps, habitats, diet, lifecycles even bite power.
This book focuses on both animals in the wild and from zoos. It includes facts about their conservation. The Zoological Society of London has teamed with Bloomsbury Publishing to produce this exciting, informative book about the strange and amazing creatures that live in the world's muddy swamps.
A great classroom resource for Science, habitats and conservation and writing animal reports.
Rhyllis Bignell