Twenty not-so-adorable animals are presented to young readers in this nonfiction collection.  Each animal has a double page spread, with color photographs and a small amount of text to accompany them.  The book can be read in one sitting or by skipping page to page.  Each animal spread is self contained, though reading the book as a whole would be easy and enjoyable.

 

Simon explores why people have prejudices to the animals presented, and he reminds readers that "Animals are not bad or evil.  They do what they must in order to survive."  It is with this spirit that these pages are meant to be read.  Octopuses are actually very shy creatures that rarely harm humans unless they are being captured.  And a skunk, for example, is usually a peaceful animal but it will spray its bad odor if it is being pursued or if it is frightened.  Other animals, such as the piranha, really do deserve their bad reputations since they have killed more people than great white sharks.  The book also focuses on the things these animals do for us, like bats eating mosquitoes and spiders eating pesky insects.  The book emphasizes understanding and appreciation of these animals, even if you refuse to fall in love with a cockroach.

 

Simon both entertains and informs, giving readers enough information to learn something new and consider new ideas, while giving facts that entertain and keep the reader wondering and hopefully desiring to explore things on their own.  The text is simple, readable, and clear; it would be a good book for lower elementary readers.  This text  would also be a good springboard into other activities and discussions - perhaps having students make their own list of animals they don't love and then have them explore the true nature of these animals, an idea suggested at the end of the book.