Skeletons: An Inside Look at Animals - Hardcover

Johnson, Jinny

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0895776049 ISBN 13: 9780895776044

Publisher: Readers Digest, 1994

Synopsis

Meticulously detailed, full-color renderings of the skeletons of eighteen animals, accompanied by an informative text, answer questions about animal anatomy, characteristics, and adaptations to the environment.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

In this handsomely designed oversize volume, Gray's meticulously rendered animal skeletons almost appear to be 3-D-and ready to spring from the glossy black pages. Johnson's concise and carefully researched descriptions of the 18 creatures (including the human) profiled here include notes on physical characteristics, habits, habitats and-most pertinently-the ways in which bones and other body parts are used. Her straightforward text contains numerous little-known facts: because water supports a blue whale's weight, its skeleton is surprisingly light; and a penguin's tail has many bones, which keep it stiff and capable of propping up a penguin standing on land. Other animals spotlighted include the green turtle, Nile crocodile, red kangaroo, elephant seal, moose and three-toed sloth. On each spread, a silhouette of an adult human alongside the animal in focus puts the creature's size in immediate perspective. Johnson's frequent cross-references comparing the species also help clarify her data. A glossary rounds out this substantial book. Ages 7-up. Children's BOMC main selection.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 3-7. Black pages form a dramatic backdrop for this striking oversize book. Each double-page spread features the skeleton of a different species representative of a wider group of animals. While the main text introduces the animal, captions around the skeleton point out various physical features. Silhouettes of the animal and a person indicate relative size, and a series of small pictures show the animal in motion. Labeling is kept to a minimum, with only two or three parts of a skeleton named on each page. The last spread features a more fully labeled skeleton of a lion, along with a glossary. The index could be used to identify like parts for comparison (for example, the claws of bats, kangaroos, lions, and sloths). Gray's excellent full-color illustrations of the animals and their skeletons give the book browsing appeal; it also offers a good beginning lesson in comparative anatomy and a great deal of miscellaneous information about animal behavior. Carolyn Phelan

About this edition

• Publisher: Readers Digest
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0895776049
• ISBN 13: 9780895776044
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 46
• Illustrator: Gray Elizabeth