The Encyclopedia of Animals: A Complete Visual Guide

We bought this book because we had it once but it got torn up over the years with little kids. We home educate and this is a great resource for science and drawing. My kids each have their own so we don't have to worry about if one gets torn.I do wish the binding was a little better on these books. We did buy used ones this time but our old one was new when we bought it and I remember the binding being the first thing to fall apart.Still this is an awesome animal book. My kids love it and they sit and look at it for a long time.My only complaint is the fact that, once again, it points to evolution. On page 23 there is a drawing made by church goers in the 1800's. I understand there is much debate and most secular resources will discuss evolution, however I am not one to remain silent on the fact that when you closely observe the amazing animals in our world, there has to be a Creator because these creatures are too wonderful and intricate to have evolved.However, this is hands down one of our favorite resources.

Let me preface this review by saying that I buy a lot on amazon and almost never write a review. THAT is how much I am pleased with this purchase.I had been searching through various animal encyclopedias, when I decided on this one. I wanted a general reference on Earth's biodiversity; in other words, I was more concerned about breadth than depth. This book is brimming with almost 600 pages of animals, and many of these pages contain 6-10 separate species. As another reviewer suggested, if a certain class of animal or specific animal strikes your fancy, feel free to use the internet or other books to learn in depth info.Additionally, I would say the vast majority of these depictions are color illustrations, but I am nonetheless thrilled. FYI National Geographic is publishing something in the fall of 2012 that is full of pictures, but I would suggest purchasing that in addition to, not in lieu of, this book.Overall, I am thrilled with this book that is overflowing with hundreds, if not thousands, of species and the interesting information about them.

8 lbs of Book Here. Great dust jacket and construction. This attractive large book is filled with gorgeous pictures of every animal, bird, bug, fish and... in their various habitats and also shows us their location on the globe. An encyclopedia lists as many entries as possible in the most organized way possible. Does this resource acheive this? Yes. The Encyclopedia of Animals succedes in capturing and grouping 1. Mammals, 2. Birds, 3. Reptiles 4. Amphibians 5. Fishes 6. Invertebrates ( Insects ). Almost 600 pages of great photography and truly talented illustrations itemizing and describing every animal known and its relation to other members of its group. Downright professional. Darwin could have used this. Yes, he would have used this in Junior High. Slightly less technical, but still complete and beautiful. I do especially love the illustrations where all members of a group appear on the same page. Shows relativity.

We bought this for our daughter who is three and just gets lost in the book. As I have not read it from cover to cover, I cannot comment to well on the thoroughness of the content. However, any questions we have had, like what is the difference between a seal and sea lion, have been answered, which leads me to believe that the content is good. Also, it is organized by species groups, which I find really instructional in terms of seeing relations and connections between seemingly unrelated animals. The illustrations and photos are gorgeous and the book really focuses on the diversity within animal species, which is great for my daughter's comprehension of the diversity of life forms as well as geography. The books also indicates where each animal falls in the continuum of endangered species, bringing another useful and provocative layer of information to the book.

I purchased this encyclopedia along with two different ones. This one is for my oldest daughter. She was disappointmed that the majority of this book is drawings rather than photographs. The other two we purchased are 99% photographs. I do like that this book is hard back, extremely thorough and gives the scientific/Latin names for each of the animals. For elementary and middle grader learners I would recommend "Animals: A Visual Encyclopedia" by DK...I like the format a lot better and the photographs are crisp and stunning!

I purchased this book for my 2 1/2 year old for Christmas. She loves looking at the pictures and asks questions about the animals. She will go get the book, which is almost as big as she is, and give it to me saying "Lets look at the pictures mommy". It is a great way to introduce the diversity of animals from around the world to a child. The images are both photos as well as beautifully illustrated artwork. The text portion I hope in the future will also become of interest to her once she becomes old enough. My husband and I have already found ourselves reading and learning as our daughter looks at the pictures.

My kids had been saving up for an animal book at the local bookstore but when they saw this and how many pages it was they decided to try it and they both loved it. They're six and eight years old and they take turns with the book, going through its pages and frequently popping their heads up to say "Whoa, dad - did you know that . . . ." It's a great price on a huge and well written and well illustrated book. It's hard cover and about the thickness of a large phone book.

Great illustrations but I feel as an encyclopedia it needs to have much more in-depth information. The balance between photographs/drawings and text is shifted towards the former. To become the best animal encyclopedia, this one needs more pages with information on habitat, prey, predators, dwellings and behavior of each animal or group of animals. Hope next edition will take this suggestion into account.

Ouvrage en anglais richement illustré. Très complet

Elegí este libro porque buscaba en inglés una guía completa, descripción y vida de animales con fantásticas fotografías, me ha encantado. Mi objetivo principal con esta guia era ir mostrandole a mi hijo de 3 años fotos de los diversos animales, junto con figuras de animales de Schleich, pero el tamaño de este libro, 600 y pico hojas con tapa dura, es similar a una enciclopedia de las que antaño teniamos en casa, obviamente es poco manejable para un niño tan pequeño, no ya, para uno de 5 años. Pese a eso, mi hijo me la pide para verla y se la afrezco, es fabulosa en imágenes, disfrutamos mucho con ella.La recomiendo y yo la volvería a comprar

They have only drawings, no real photos of the animals. Other aspects are all good.

Muito bom! Ótimo pra quem é amante de animais e seres vivos no geral, uma enciclopédia completa, com muitas espécies exóticas e conhecidas! Conteúdo é em inglês, porém não tira o mérito, uma ótima enciclopédia ilustrativa sobre os seres vivos!

Ótimo livro bem completo,várias espécies de todos os gêneros,bela obra!