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Over 1225 colour photographs
Over 770 illustrations

• Fun facts in a lively and exciting format teach children all about animals and how they behave, including hunting, communication, migration, habitat and much more



• Over 1200 stunning pictures by top wildlife photographers, including close-ups and habitat shots, plus more than 750 specially commissioned illustrations and cross-sections



• Features a huge range of animals including whales, elephants, bears, wolves, monkeys, turtles, snakes, birds, bees, ants and many, many more



• Authoritative and informative text is presented in an attractive user-friendly format, including myths and legends boxes, 'Did You Know?' features, and bitesized fun facts, to keep children captivated



• Supports school studies on animal biology and is ideal for home study or school use



• A fascinating, stimulating and accessible reference book for 8 to 12-year-olds

Children love animals, and love to learn about them. This book lets children find all their animal favourites in an enjoyable, easy and captivating way, by laying out the information in the form of fun facts, focus features, folklore and myth boxes, 'Did You Know?' spots, and bite-sized lessons of all kinds.

This stunning natural history book is illustrated with more than 1200 colour pictures by some of the world's best wildlife photographers and 750 specially commissioned illustrations and cross-sections. It examines a huge range of incredible animals from tiny insects, beetles, bugs, spiders, moths and butterflies to snakes, birds of prey, wolves, dogs, horses, mighty bears, whales and elephants.

Each animal is examined in turn, and each chapter takes a detailed look at how they function, from their physical make-up such as bones, teeth, skin, scales or fur to how they use their brain and senses to find food, communicate and survive.

Discover amazing facts about animal bodies. For example, did you know that a saltwater crocodile can stay underwater for more than an hour, that the blue whale's tongue weighs as much as an African elephant, or that rock pythons can kill and eat crocodiles?

Thousands of fascinating animal facts are featured in this exciting and colourful book. It is an invaluable read for all young natural history enthusiasts, supporting school studies on animal biology and behaviour. It is ideal for home study or school use, and is a stimulating and accessible reference book for 8 to 12-year-olds everywhere.

About the Authors

Barbara Taylor - Author

Barbara Taylor studied environmental sciences at Southampton University before becoming a science editor and writer at London's Natural History Museum. She is now a writer and editor specialising in children's information books. Barbara has won several awards, including, for Crocodiles (in the Lorenz Books Nature Watch series), the Key Stage 2 non-fiction category of the English Associations 4-11 awards for the best children's illustrated books of 2000. Barbara Taylor's published works include; Butterflies & Moths (Dorling Kindersley); Kingfisher Young Knowledge: Insects (Kingfisher); Bug Zone series (Chrysalis Children's Books/Anova Books); Animal Close-ups series: Frogs and Snakes & Insects (Oxford University Press).

Jen Green - Author

Dr Jen Green received her doctorate from the University of Sussex (Dept of English and American Studies) in 1982. She worked in publishing for 15 years, as an editor and later editorial director (1981-1996). Since then she has worked full-time as a writer. She has written over 150 books for children, many of which are listed below. She also undertakes editorial work.

John Farndon - Author

John Farndon studied Earth science at Cambridge University, UK. Since then he has written a host of books and articles on a wide range of science subjects and has been shortlisted three times for the Copus Science Book Prize, for books such as How the Earth Works (Dorling Kindersley) and The Book of the Brain (Hodder). His speciality remains Earth science and he is the author of the Dictionary of the Earth (Dorling Kindersley), Rocks and Crystals (Sterling), Rocks and Minerals (Benchmark Books) and e-Guides Rock and Mineral (Dorling Kindersley).

Mark O'Shea - Author

Mark O'Shea is probably best known as the presenter of 36 adventurous natural history films, the best known being the four-series of "O'Shea's Big Adventure" on Animal Planet and "O'Shea's Dangerous Reptiles" on Channel 4. He is also the Consultant Curator of Reptiles at West Midland Safari Park, his base since 1987. Mark has written scientific papers and five books on reptiles, contributing chapters to several other volumes, and he also presents a series of lectures on the subject.

Michael Bright - Author

Michael Bright works for the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol. He has written many articles and books on natural history topics for both children and adults. Michael has previously written Sharks and Bears & Pandas for the Nature Watch series.

Rhonda Klevansky - Author

Rhonda Klevansky is a photographer and writer specializing in writing articles on South America. Since working for the Natural History Unit at the BBC in Bristol, Rhonda has been working freelance. Rhonda's first children's book was Nature Watch: Big Cats for Lorenz Books, and she had previously written many articles for magazines.

Robin Kerrod - Author

Robin Kerrod is an experienced children's writer whose main area of interest is science and natural history. He is the author of Fantastic Facts: Astronomy and Fantastic Facts: Weather for Southwater. Robin Kerrod is an established author of children's information books and former winner of the COPUS science book prize. He writes widely on science, technology and the natural world.

Tom Jackson - Author

Tom Jackson is an experienced author of natural history and science books. Since graduating with a degree in zoology from Bristol University, England, he has worked at Jersey Zoo and has been involved in the conservation of endangered wildlife in Zimbabwe. As a travel journalist, he has explored the wondrous Galapagos Islands and the Amazonian rainforests. Tom's published works include: Tropical Forest (Raintree); The World Encyclopedia of Animals and Parrots, Tropical and Rainforest Birds (both Lorenz Books); and Nature Factfile: Monkeys (Southwater).