Animal Engineers

The six-volume “Astonishing Animals” series examines the physical and behavioral adaptations of a variety of animals which help them to survive. Each title is comprised of 13 chapters as well as a table of contents, a glossary, an index and a brief list of books and websites for further investigation. Animals featured in the series are representative of all of the major groups and range from the microscopic tardigrade to the seven-metre-long beaked whale. Some of the animals will be familiar to readers while others are quite rare and unique. Besides the main body of the text, there are Fact File boxes which, with the exception of the title about animal celebrities, tell where the animal is found, its habitat, size and diet. (In the case of Animal Celebrities, the Fact File box states the animal’s date of birth and death, where it lived, and its “hobbies”.) As well, smaller “Wow!” text boxes provide interesting trivia, some examples being that a 270-kg octopus can squeeze through a 2.5 cm opening and that chimpanzees’ nests contain lower levels of bacteria than human beds. An attractive layout and abundant, eye-catching colour photographs add to the series’ visual appeal.

Most readers will have heard of the engineering prowess of the North American beaver whose lodges provide shelter and whose dams change the ecosystem. In Animal Engineers, readers will also find information about weaver birds that build upside-down nests with a tunnel entrance at the bottom, termite “cathedrals”, different types of spider webs, and bower birds that decorate their nests with flowers, fruit, stones, and even garbage left by humans. Wasps, chimps, harvest mice, African bush elephants, oysters and black-tailed prairie dogs are the other engineers featured in this title.

Enjoyable and engaging, with just enough information to pique the reader’s interest, the “Astonishing Animals” series does a good job of introducing readers to some incredible animals.