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Over 1225 colour photographs
Over 770 illustrations

• Over 1200 stunning colour pictures by top wildlife photographers, including close-ups and inside views.



• Features a huge range of incredible animals including, spiders, insects, wolves, crocodiles, penguins, sharks, monkeys, snakes and many more.



• Authoritative and informative text presented in an attractive user-friendly format, including myths and legends panels, 'Did You Know?' boxes, and bite-size fascinating facts, to keep children captivated.



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



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



• Fun facts in a lively and exciting format teach children about all types of animal behaviour, including hunting, mating, birth, communication, migration, camouflage, habitat, nesting and much much more

Children love animals, and love to learn about them. This book is designed to let children find out about all their animal favourites in an enjoyable, easy and captivating way, by laying out the information in the form of fun facts, focus features, myth and folklore 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. 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, crocodiles and elephants.

Each animal is examined in turn, with an introductory section, followed by 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 or seek mates.

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 a whole African Elephant or that pythons can kill and eat leopards?

Thousands of rare and fascinating 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 a stimulating and accessible reference book for 8-12-year-olds anywhere, for learning, or just for fun.

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 full time writer specialising in science and natural history books for children. 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; The Illustrated Wildlife Encyclopedia of Reptiles (Lorenz Books); Animal Encyclopedia (Dorling Kindersley); and Nature Fact File: Crocodiles (Southwater).

Jen Green - Author

Dr Jen Green is the author of over 50 books for children. She has an enduring interest in history, and has written a number of books on native America. She received her doctorate in English and American Studies from the University of Sussex in 1982. Her published works include: Bugs & Minibeasts (Southwater); Rainforest (Dorling Kindersley); Brain and Senses (Franklin Watts); I'm Special (Hodder Wayland); and Why Should I Save Water? (Hodder Wayland).

John Farndon - Author

John Farndon has written and acted as a consultant on many children's books particularly related to science. John Farndon has written many reference titles for children and has twice been shortlisted for the COPUS science book prize. He graduated from Cambridge University with a Masters degree in Earth Science.

Mark O'Shea - Author

Mark O'Shea is probably best known as the reptile expert on the Channel 4 television series O'Shea's Dangerous Reptiles. He is also curator of reptiles at West Midland Safari Park. Mark has written or contributed to key guides to snakes, reptiles, and amphibians, and lectures all over the world. In the course of over 50 research expeditions and field studies worldwide, including herpetological projects as biological director for Operation Raleigh, he has made significant contributions to the understanding of reptiles for biological and medical research. Mark is a Fellow of the Explorers Club of New York and of the Royal Geographic Society, a Scientific Fellow of the Zoological Society of London, and President of the International Herpetological Society. In 2000, he joined astronaut Buzz Aldin, explorer Ranulph Fiennes, and mountaineer Chris Bonnington as a recipient of the Millennium Award for Services to Zoology from the British Chapter of the Explorers Club of New York.

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, 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 (Lorenz Books); Nature Factfile: Monkeys (Southwater); and Parrots, Tropical and Rainforest Birds (Lorenz Books).