Biggest, Strongest, Fastest

by Steve Jenkins

Caldecott Medal winner Steve Jenkins explores the world’s largest, slowest, and longest-lived creatures in this informational picture book that proves science can be a whole lot of fun. What is the biggest land animal? What animal runs the fastest? Can elephants really eat more than 300 pounds of grass each day? Dive into this fascinating book that introduces fourteen members of the animal kingdom who hold “world records” for their astonishing traits. Young readers will find easy-to-understand comparisons, helpful charts, and a guide to where these amazing animals can be found in the wild. Made with his award-winning cut-page collage illustrations, this educational and entertaining book from Steve Jenkins brings the fascinating facts about our natural world alive.

Genres: Picture Books, Animals, Nonfiction, Science, Childrens, Nature, Mathematics

32 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Steve was born in 1952 in Hickory, North Carolina. His father, who would become a physics professor and astronomer (and recently his co-author on a book about the Solar System), was in the military and, later, working on science degrees at several different universities. We moved often. Steve lived in North Carolina, Panama, Virginia, Kansas, and Colorado. Wherever he lived, he kept a menagerie of lizards, turtles, spiders, and other animals, collected rocks and fossils, and blew things up in his small chemistry lab.

Because he moved often, Steve didn't have a large group of friends, and he spent a lot of time with books. His parents read to him until he could read himself, and he became an obsessive reader.

His interest in science led me to believe that I'd be a scientist himself. At the last minute, he chose instead to go to art school in North Carolina, where he studied graphic design. After graduation he moved to New York City, where he worked in advertising and design, first in large firms and then with his wife, Robin Page, in their own small graphic design firm. Robin, also an author and illustrator, is his frequent collaborator — they've made sixteen children's books together.

Their daughter Page was born in 1986 and our son, Alec, two years later. They began reading to them when they were just a few months old, and Steve became interested in making children's books himself. My wife and I read to our two older children almost every night until hisdaughter was 12 or 13, long after they were reading on their own. It was, in many ways, the best part of the day.

In 1994 they moved to from New York City to Boulder, Colorado, where they work in a studio attached to their house, which was built in the 1880s and often functions as if it were still the 19th century.

Their youngest son, Jamie, was born in 1998. The questions his children asked over the years have been the inspiration for many of their books.

Librarian's Note: There is more than one author with this name in the Goodreads database.

Reviews

[Kebron Assefa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Biggest, Strongest, Fastest by Steve Jenkins was written to inform children about animals they may have heard of and others they may not have heard of. The author writes about what makes each animal in the book special which is probably why he only used superlatives in the title of the book. One of the major themes in the book was that these animals have something unique that sometimes scientists do not understand how they survive. The genre of this book is informational as it is just sharing information about a variety of animals. If I were going to read this book to children, I would teach them that even though the ant is small, it is incredibly strong and though they too are small, they can be just as strong and learn to become confident and independent people. Another lesson I could teach is that the cheetah may be fast but it cannot run for very long before getting tired. They do not have to worry about being the fastest as long as they are do everything well and do it right. This book was a WOW book for me because it had information that I already knew while adding other information that I did not know which may be good for children because it will not be as overwhelming as a book full of brand new information.
One writing craft technique that the author used is comparing the animals to things we already know in order to show how amazing they truly are. One example was the Etruscan shrew which is so small it could sleep comfortably on a spoon. Another writing craft technique he used was keeping he lengthy part of the information in a corner. I believe that it is there in case a child looking through it wants to learn more about the animal because all those words may seem too intimidating. The author portrayed anti-bias perspectives by not including people except as a comparative tool.

[Emma Rewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!! My students and I loved this book!! Like the “Ripley’s” for the animal world.

[Becky B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Animal loving kids will devour this picture book. It relates in brief text information about animal record holders and tries to put it in terms kids can understand (like if a 5.5ft woman had the same jumping skills as a flea she could leap on top of a 65 story building in one bound). The illustrations are colorfully done in a collage style that catches the eye. There is a chart in the back with further information on each animal.

I wish that there were one clarifying statement that these are the record holding animals known right now. It seems as soon as a book like this is published scientist find a fantastic new creature that makes the it incorrect, and when students find that out they discount all other info in the book. Also, some of the terms used like "biggest" are rather vague and could be misunderstood if kids don't read the rest of the page carefully (which includes small print info), so that reduces the usefulness of the book for science classes a little bit. Just as an entertaining book for youngsters though, it is fine. It could also be used in English classes to augment a study on comparative language.

[Aska · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this book, Steve Jenkins uses his signature collage to illustrate his informational text. Children learn about the record holders of the animal world. He uses his colors for the background wisely to contrast with the featured animals. Instantly, as you turn the pages, animals pop out from the plain background. Some of the background paper looked like washi paper which is a traditional paper made by fibers from the bark of a tree. It creates a rough texture, which effectively depicts a sense of time. Steve Jenkins might have purposely used this type of paper as a background for the tortoise that lives longer than other animals.
To show the children how long the sun jellyfish is, he cleverly used three pages. The first page only showing the tentacles of the jellyfish and as children turn the page, see the whole picture. He used turn page as a technique to anticipate children's enthusiasm for this long creature. By using different types of paper, it creates lines and deep structure to show texture on animal’s skin.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this very simple picture book that explains about some extreme animals using cut paper collage. The size of each animal is compared to a human at the bottom right of each page and includes weights and measurements. The book could be a simple research book for younger children. It could help students understand size and shape. For older children, the book offers interesting content for understanding weights and measurements.

Finally this could be aa wonderful book to teach the concept of long, longer longest.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book presents a variety of animals and what superlative feat it is known for. Cheetah is the fast, African elephant largest land animal, land snail is the slowest, etc.

It is a short but interesting read. The accompanying illustrations are complementary. A solid book.

I think I shall use this when I teach superlatives this year.

[Katie Freije · Rating 5 out of 5]

Biggest, Strongest, Fastest By Steve Jenkins in a nonfiction book that describes different types of animals that are considered to be the biggest, strongest, and fastest animals. There are many details that make this book unique. In the corner of almost every page is a diagram that compares the animal to a human. This is a great way for students to comprehend the true size of these animals. This book gives physical facts about both land and sea animals- some animals that I had never heard of before. This shocking book gives insight into the lives of each of these animals and the characteristics that help them survive. I believe this nonfiction book would be a great upper grade read aloud. I believe that this book gives great insight to the true characteristics of animals and their comparison to humans. I would not want the little details of this book to get lost when a student is reading it independently. I would highlight different aspects on each page throughout the read aloud.
I believe that Biggest, Strongest, Fastest would be a great book for a morning meeting. I would read the book for the entire week and read three pages (three animals). I would then have the students tell me which animal they would like to be and why. I think that this would not only be a fun way to interact with the book, but have the students think more about the characteristics of these animals that they might not have otherwise heard of. Another way I would use this book is to talk about adaptations. I would incorporate it into a science lesson where we were discussing how animals use their traits to survive. We could look at this book and talk about how each animal uses their traits to best survive. This book also showcases animals that are the opposite of big, strong, and fast but shows how they are able to survive. I believe this would help students to see that you do not need to be the biggest, strongest, or fastest to be the best. Through this you could also use this book to talk about kindness and how the biggest, strongest, and fastest people are not considered to be the best. You can show students that everyone and every animal has their own special set of traits and they are unique and special.

[Shannon Ginley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary:
This book includes interesting facts about the biggest, strongest, and fastest animals of its species throughout the world. It talks about the characteristics of animals such as elephants, ants, giraffes, whales, birds, jellyfish, and a lot more! The story includes interesting facts about the "biggest" or "fastest" animals in the world and provides really fascinating fun facts to go along with them.

Review:
I think this book is a great introduction book of information texts to young students because it provides very simple, but interesting bits of information about animals all around the world. The short sentences and interesting facts paired with the topic of that page makes it very easy to navigate and absorb the information given to readers. I like how the book incorporated a variety of different animals with diverse characteristics and features.

Book Connections:
I think this book can connect very well to "Hello World: Animals: An Amazing Atlas of Wildlife" by Nicola Edwards. Both of these books incorporate interesting facts about animals all around the world, as some animals are talked about in both books. "Hello World: Animals: An Amazing Atlas of Wildlife" is a great book for younger children as well because it is interactive with fold up flaps and such.

Quote/Use:
I think this book can be used as a mentor text for students just starting out learning about how to write informational texts. Although this book doesn't include every single informational text feature, it incorporates some features, such as pictures, captions, and facts. This book can be a model to allow students to focus and concentrate on certain features to include in their informational writing when first starting out.

[Gretchen Sanftleben · Rating 5 out of 5]

The text Biggest, Strongest, Fastest is an amazing informational text. Through this text, students are able to read and view illustrations of amazing creatures. The text offers superlatives of the animal kingdom: who gives the strongest shock, who is the largest, who is the smallest, and who is the best jumper. This text also offers graphics to help students put these facts into context. For example, the smallest animal is shown in comparison to a hand while the largest jellyfish is shown in comparison to a human. Students of all ages could enjoy this text depending on the activities you choose to accompany it. Older students who are studying the animal kingdom in science could easily use this text as the basis of a research project. Students could then compare the vast extremes among animals from physical characteristics to abilities and habitats. Younger students could use this book to launch a study of opposites. They could sort animals into pairs based on their opposites: biggest and smallest, fastest and slowest. Overall, it’s illustrations and amazing facts make this a true Wow book!

[Jazmín Carranza · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a fan of Steve Jenkins illustrations this book was not the best one, he has created. I had a hard time reading the words because of the color choices he used for his backgrounds and font color. The story was great and full of interesting facts. I just felt disappointed in his artwork. Positives I found was at the end he has a chart that lists all the animals he wrote about. He states their record, size, diet, and range. Making readers learn interesting facts about these animals. I would most likely introduce this book in a science class. I could have students help me construct a chart similar to Jenkins. Once this chart is completed, I will have students find an animal that is similar to the ones in the book and research them. They can compare their animal to the one from the book and identify the differences and share them to the class. This activity will help students increase their knowledge about animals that are in the wild.

[Stephanie Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: Biggest, Strongest, Fastest is a collection of record holding animals. Each page is dedicated to a different animal and contains beautiful collage-style illustrations.

Evaluation: This book has interesting facts and real-life comparisons for each animal included. In the back of the book, there is chart which includes the animal, the record it holds, the size of the animal, diet and areas in which the animal can be found. The book is easy to read and includes interesting facts that will interest children of all ages.

Teaching Idea: This book would be a good introduction to classifying animals. There are fourteen animals included in the book and each summary includes a distinct characteristic true for that animal. This format could also be used as an example for students to create their own animal fact book.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learning about the animal world with small kids? Have a child who is really interested in facts? This is a great book for feeding the knowledge of both. The comparative charts that show a human man in comparison to the animals (or a human hand when the animals are very small) is so great for helping kids relate to the information being presented. We really enjoyed this book and will most definitely pick it up again. As my children grow, we may even use this book with early research skills to search the internet to confirm that some of these record-setting animals are in fact still the record-holders.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never really liked very many non-fiction books growing up. I always leaned toward books that were funny or silly. I didn't enjoy it as much if the books were serious. However, I love this book. I think the art style with the collages is really incredible and well done and the animal facts are very interesting. I could see many children becoming interested in these animals and want to study and learn about them more because of this book. This could be a great learning resource for children. I might not read this to super small children, but I think kids could really start enjoying this book around 2nd grade.

[Charles Harold · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful look into records held by members of the Animal Kingdom.

Using paper collages that look so well done they could be mistaken for paintings, Steve Jenkins introduces the reader to fourteen different animals that hold a world record. He doesn't just focus on the most well known animal record holder, but also gives some attention to ones a child might otherwise never learn about.

I recommend this book highly, especially to parents whose children have been bitten by the animals bug and want to learn everything there is to know

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Get ready to introduce animals in our world that hold records, as the title shows, "biggest, strongest, fastest", and more! Each double-page spread shows the animal with Jenkins' extraordinary cut-paper collages and a small inset with the pertinent facts. One example that I learned is that "The flea is the world's best jumper." This will help start curious young readers to want more, about the animals included, and others, too! A special book from all that have come from Jenkins! Sadly, he passed away in 2021.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do your children love books about animals? This was a fun read for my class. I shared this text prior to learning about grammar and they really enjoyed it. Some of the facts, such as the fastest animal, they knew quite well, but other animals were surprising and they really liked hearing about the different animals. A nice picture book format and some fun facts. Good to share for a read-aloud or with your child who loves animals.

[Jonathon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel that this book has a lot of good information, for students of any level from pre-k to college, due to the basic facts within this book. I personally would not use all of these facts in this book simply because not all of the facts may be true. However, if I were to use this with a high schooler or college students I would have them research the facts in this book and see if they still stand.

[Robert Gowdy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, informational story. Appeals to an older and a younger range of students. Has facts that are more detailed and facts that are simpler to understand. Touches on the topic of animal facts, animal habitats, and animal conservation. Interesting drawn sketch collection in the book that are all full bleed with minimal text required. would recommend using to teach to kids about animals or animal conservation.

[Henry Claxton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Biggest, Strongest, Fastest, is an extremely interesting book describing the most extreme animals. For example, it talks about the longest, slowest, tallest, fastest, oldest, etc. animals on Earth. It then compares these animals to humans. Transitional or emergent readers can read the main sentence of the text, and emergent or fluent readers could read the examples of the text. The illustrations help to understand what makes these animals so extreme.

[Marilyn Maldonado · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is perfect for children that love to learn about animals. This with other books that touch on safari animals would be perfect for a safari-themed section in the classroom library. With some difficult words for the youngest of students, I believe these types of books would be best for older elementary students, as research material based on the condensed information the book has focusing on the cheetah.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very colorful and attractive. The information given is both at a preschool and an elementary level, which will help the book appeal to more readers. The statement about each animal is very simple and direct, but there is also a small box on each page giving more detailed information that would interest elementary students. Informative and interesting, I recommend this book, especially to teachers of young children.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brief and to the point introduction to some of the world's biggest, strongest, fastest, and slowest animals. If you have a kid in your house who loves either animals or records or stats, this is a quick but satisfying read. With each page of illustration there was an accompanying illustration and short blurb comparing the animal's feat to what that same feat would require of a human--relative and based on scale. Fascinating!

[Bailey Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Biggest, Strongest, Fastest" is a book about animals who have extreme qualities. I really liked this book because it was very easy to read, but also had good facts added on each page apart from the text of the story. This would be a great book to put at a science center in a classroom, or to read aloud for an animal unit.

[Nancy Patterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Date I completed reading the book: 10-29-20

My star rating (1 to 5): ****

The date: 11-23-20

Genre: Nonfiction

Grade range: PreK-3

Book review: This book allows students to learn about the world's smallest, largest, strongest, fastest, and slowest creatures, their characteristics, and behavior.It is a very interactive book with great captivating pictures!

[Ali Book&Seaglasshunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of facts about animals who are the “best” at something. Lots of comparisons are drawn in terms that are relatable and understandable to kids. The text is light with the real standout here being the illustrations. I really enjoyed all of the texture present in the images.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Awesome nonfiction animal book that teaches facts about the "biggest, strongest, fastest" animals. Great for younger grades but possibly older grades, too.

Story: 4
Illustrations: 3
Read-aloud: 4

[Jackie Spell · Rating 4 out of 5]

My second graders really enjoyed this book. They were excited to discuss the different animals. We have been reading books that involve Steve Jenkins, so they immediately noticed the similarities in the illustrations to other books.

[Emilie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
Good overall, great for classroom resource, and great papercut illustrations.

[Kenneth Clayton · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun book that was fascinating and my 6 year old was blown away by the facts.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids found the facts so interesting, especially when they would think of in terms of their dad (6' 3")