Animal Tracks and Signs: Track Over 400 Animals from Big Cats to Garden Birds

by Jinny Johnson

National Geographic is proud to present a photography-ricj reference book for animal lovers of all ages. Featuring more than 400 animals, almost 200 life-size tracks, 650 National Geographic-quality photos & illustrations, fact boxes & sidebard packed full of extra information, special sidebars highlighting types of animal signs, & instructions for recording tracks.

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Reference, Animals

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Douglas Summers-Stay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Daniel got interested in this because of cub scouts. We often find raccoon, deer, goose, rabbit, cat and dog prints in the mud or snow when we walk in the woods. The trouble with this book is not the tracks-- nearly every page has a close up picture of some kind of animal poop. Daniel didn't mind, but I thought it was gross.

[Katherine]

I'm leaving unrated, since I skimmed the whole book, and only read about the specific animals I went looking for. I liked how the material is accessible for all ages. That said, since the book covers >400 animals, there wasn't a lot of information on the animals that were included, which was slightly disappointing. I think the material that was included is great for children, though.

Funnily enough, I read a review by someone who didn't like how many photos of feces were in this book, which made me want to pick it up even more, and I actually wished there were more photos instead of drawings so it could make my animal tracking even easier.

I'd say this is a good jumping off point if you want to start tracking animals, but you definitely need more specific information for your region since this book contains general information about animals globally.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of tracks, life-sized, a variety of signs. Very broad scope.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very interesting book on many levels. The pictures throughout the book are gorgeous, and of unusual animals as well as common ones. Information about the footprints (and tail prints) of various animals are well explained. Granted, it deals with droppings of these animals but not in a gross way. Young children who have not yet developed sufficient reading levels can still enjoy the pictures while another reads the information for them.

It more than meets the quality I'd expect from National Geographic.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book for those of us who like to prod through nature and find the animals that live in it. It contains valuable information such as an image, animal's diet, tracks, body size and further comments. The intro to the book contains information on how to track and recording tracks by making casts and/or sketching the tracks.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very helpful resource. And I used it to make casts of some tracks that I found. The directions were simple and they turned out great. And using the book I was able to ID them. It's very easy to use and I really liked it. Although, there are a lot of species listed that I will probably never see. xD

[Theo Girvan · Rating 4 out of 5]

400 animals

[Jack & · Rating 3 out of 5]

Both children enjoy looking through the book and finding facts out about animals.