How Long Can a Fly Fly?: 175 Answers to Possible and Impossible Questions about Animals

by Lars-Åke Janzon

Get to know more than the usual facts and stats about animals, both familiar and rare! How Long Can a Fly Fly? will answer all your animal questions, along with plenty more you’ve never even thought to ask. This fun and educational book, good for all ages, is filled with fascinating information about animals, alongside unique hand-drawn illustrations that add to the entertainment. Lars-Ake Janzon is the on-call biologist at the Swedish Museum of Natural History, where one of his jobs is to answer visitors’ questions. For over ten years, he has been researching things  

 ·        If a mosquito is hit by a drop of water, will it die? 

 ·        Are ducks faithful to one partner all their lives? 

 ·        Which animals are the biggest or fastest? 

 ·        How many acorns can a squirrel peel in one day? 

 ·        Can fish swim backwards? 

 The questions and answers included are imaginative and instructive, and Janzon’s style is accessible to readers with even a casual interest in understanding just a little bit more about nature. 

Genres: Animals, Science

208 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2012

About the author

Lars-Åke Janzon is a biologist at the Swedish Museum of Natural History in Stockholm. He enjoys research in the lab and in the field, where he often helps students identify their natural finds. He has made numerous television and radio appearances in Sweden to discuss biology and nature, and has published many articles on his findings.

Reviews

[Elise Ravenclaw · Rating 1 out of 5]

Humpback whales lay eggs according to this book!

Found it hard to keep reading after such nonsense. Also, extremely poorly edited for typos. Keep your money and do not waste your time.

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were a couple of nuggets in here but overall he might have had someone that speaks English give it a quick read before releasing. Also, I have never heard of half of the animals he is writing about as they are native to Sweden or Europe. Would not recommend in North America.

[ian witham · Rating 1 out of 5]

This man is a fraud. He should be fired and made to repay every krona that the Swedish government has paid him.
He said that humpback whales lay five to seven eggs. Once I read that, I stopped reading and got a refund. Whales don't lay eggs.

[Dave Parkinson · Rating 1 out of 5]

All about Sweden

Useless if you don’t live in Sweden.
Didn’t realise it was so specific.
Most useless book I’ve ever bought for my Kindle!!

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick read with some interesting bits. Some explanations felt rushed and were hard to grasp.

Saw reviews say that the book states humpback whales lay eggs. I read the Swedish edition and there it says that mute swan lay 5 to 7 eggs (and that is unusual that as many as five babies survive until the winter). Mute swan in Swedish is ”knölsvan”, humpback whale in Swedish is ”knölval”. So the book definitely has a sloppy translation to English.

Did not like the part on how to keep butterfly larvae in jars. Just let the animals be.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was fun for our family to read together. It was written in Sweden so a good chunk of information is specific to Scandinavia but there was enough that was relevant to us that it was pretty fun for a library book.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could've been done better, but some interesting, fun, answers.

[David Robinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book.

The book is a very good read, but it desperately needs proper proof reading. The Swedish origin does not matter.