| Summary: | Davies, Nicola. Extreme Animals: The Toughest Creatures on Earth. Illustrated by Neal Layton. Candlewick Press, 2006. ISBN 0763630675. $12.99. 64 p. Reviewer: Kate Reynolds Reading Level: Intermediate Rating: Excellent Genre: Informational books; Subject: Animals--Adaptation--Juvenile literature; Extreme environments--Juvenile literature; Books--Reviews; Life is everywhere on our planet and a good deal of it exists in extremes that would kill a human. From the Arctic and Antarctic to volcanoes and deep sea vents, Extreme Animals highlights the various creatures that have adapted to some of the harshest conditions our planet can produce. Davies gives examples of animals that live in extremes and explains how their physiology has adapted to the conditions in terms that will be easily understood by a child. In addition to hot and cold adapted creatures, she highlights animals that can live to great ages, or live in a vacuum, or survive excessive g-forces, or withstand extreme pressure. While Davies plays a little fast and loose with the definition of "animal" (she mentions thermophilic bacteria as an example of something that thrives in high temperatures and yew trees as an example of long-lived organisms) the book will certainly both educate and entertain a child. It is full of trivia, accompanied by cartoonish illustrations, which would be a great introduction or accompaniment to a lesson on earth's biomes and the creatures that inhabit them. 64 p. Children's Book and Play Review, March 2007
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