A first reference for the primary grades, Amazing Animals does a good job engaging young readers with lots of fun facts and details, offering a basic introduction to a wide variety of species.

Rather than categorizing animals by species, veteran children’s author and educator Margriet Ruurs organizes the book around characteristics (size and strength) and behaviour (home-building, communication). This not only makes for a more intriguing read, but also immerses the reader in the ways animals live. What Ruurs does best is make her collection of facts relevant to the reader. Thus, a blue whale’s heart weighs “almost as much as a small car,” and black ants can perform feats of strength that are the equivalent of “lifting a horse over your head!”

The images by W. Allan Hancock are detailed and for the most part dynamic. Hancock manages a fine balance between a painterly style and photorealism that almost always showcases the animals within their habitats.

The brief glossary could have been expanded – for instance, it does not offer definitions for the words “engandered” or “extinct.” In fact, there is no way for readers to know to which animals she is referring, as she never tells us in the body of the text.

Though it is not quite as amazing as the animals it profiles, Ruur’s survey is sure to whet the research appetite of any budding naturalist.