I Wonder Why Camels Have Humps: And Other Questions about Animals

by Anita Ganeri

Book Overview

From the classic "Why do leopards have spots?" and the not-so-obvious "Why can't penguins fly?" to the amazing "How many ants can an anteater eat?" this book is packed with perennially asked questions about animals.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0753456605
• ISBN13: 9780753456606
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: Kingfisher
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 0.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 6.4" x 9.2"
• Age Range: 5 to 8 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 3

Customer Reviews

Excellent and informative even for the adults!

This book is filled with answers to a variety of questions about animals. Which is the biggest animal? The blue whale. But one of this book's strengths is that it doesnt' just stop at the short answer; it does what it can to make the answer more concrete. The magnitude of the blue whale's length (100 ft) is illustrated by showing it with eight elephants standing along its back, and its weight (150 tons) is illustrated by showing it on one sie of a giant scale with 40 cars piled up on the other side. The relative size of the blue whale is also show by placing a whale shark, a giraffe, an elephant, an ostrich, a reticulated python, and people beside it. The size of each of those additional animals is given as well as a brief tidbit. This all on a 2-page spread. These tidbits and segments of text are scattered over the pages. And tidbits does explain how the information is presented. They're interesting, but not too in-depth. Do you know why flamingos are pink? It's because of the shrimp they eat; otherwise, they'd be a dull gray. Why can't penguins fly? Their wings are too small to keep their heavy bodies in the air, btu they are good swimmers and divers, using their wings as paddles. How high can a kangaroo hop? The highest a kangaroo has jumped is about 10 feet. Which is the greediest animal? The tiny Etruscan shrew when full-grown has to eat three times its weight in food EACH day. And there are many, many more questions and answers. In only 32 pages, this book packs in a lot of information with many colorful illustrations. To many of the facts, a child's reaction is just going to be "Wow!" and to others, it will be "Wow, I want to know more about that animal!" What more can you ask from a children's science book?

Why I Love this Book

Every kid I've meet is interested in animals, and every kid I've met is curious and is always asking questions. That what makes this such a great book. It takes many different questions about animals and turns it into a cute and very informative book. The illustrations are wonderful and very adorable. I know that there are a lot of books written for children about animals and some may be more detailed and informative, but this book is different, has an original format, and is much more enjoyable to read. When I was younger I really enjoyed the I Wonder Why Series, but this is my favorite books.