Ugly Animals

National Geographic Readers: Level 2

by Laura Marsh

Sometimes, the uglier, the better! In this level 2 reader, young readers will meet the ugliest of animals. Follow these funny looking creatures and learn how their strange looks help them in the wild. Interesting photos and carefully leveled text make this book perfect for reading aloud our for independent reading.

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

32 pages, Library Binding

First published July 14, 2015

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 1 out of 5]

Truth be told, I absolutely do despise on a deep down and emotional, personal level when animals, even if they definitely are not what us humans would tend to consider cute, cuddly or pretty, are labelled as being ugly in appearance, for in my opinion, calling an animal or an animal species this is also an immediate and total negative value judgement in and of itself.

And therefore, I only read Laura Marsh’s Ugly Animals in the first place because I already had it downloaded on my Kindle and well, I was also just a wee bit curious which animals the author would label as ugly and if she would also point out that perhaps using the adjective “ugly” to describe certain animals is in fact pejorative and not such a good idea.

But sadly, and from the title Ugly Animals indeed not all that surprisingly, most of Laura Marsh’s presented text has been at best rather majorly disappointing and infuriating to and for me. I mean, who gets to decide whether a given animal species supposedly is ugly anyhow, as I for one totally DO NOT consider ANY of the featured animals shown in Ugly Animals as in any manner repellent, except that yes, for me it is actually majorly repulsive that the author, that Laura Marsh obviously seems to consider these animals thus simply because of what their physical appearances happen to be like. And if Marsh in fact does does not consider these animals as horrid, sorry, but by consistently in Ugly Animals labelling her featured and described species as “critters” there is at least to and for me an immediate inherent negativity invoked (which author Laura Marsh also totally fails to combat and condemn, for if she did, she would in my opinion and for example also be totally verbally and vocally critical of how in Madagascar, the nocturnal aye-aye lemur is critically endangered mostly because stupid and ignorant Malagasy villagers will often kill it on sight because of death superstitions and totally hating the aye-aye just for its rather unique looks).

And albeit that Laura Marsh does present the specific scientific information on the animals being portrayed in an I guess interesting enough manner, her at best rather judgmental attitudes and value judgments regarding supposed animal ugliness, combined with the annoying (and for the National Geographic Readers frustratingly common) absence of any and all bibliographic information, makes me only consider one star for Ugly Animals (as yes, I really do not like animal species being labelled as ugly and find books focussing on the latter really and totally problematic).

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun book to read (kind of revolting at times) so I am sure it will be well checked out. I bought it sight unread after seeing some negative comments about the use of word ugly. The book is a well written easy reader with bright colorful pictures. Each page has fun facts about the animal and how their ugliness is to their benefit.

We have a number of the National Geographic easy reader books already and I will keep adding them to our library. BTW, there is another ugly animals book ( in a different series) ... We Can’t all be Pandas. Hahaha.

[Doren Damico · Rating 3 out of 5]

These strange creatures are categorized by where they live: On the Ground, Under the Earth, In the Air, In the Water, In the Trees, and even In Outer Space! The photos are accompanied by short descriptions of specific features that help the animals live. Vocabulary is displayed in “Critter Term” boxes. Difficult words are followed by a phonetic pronunciation guide. The Quiz Whiz at the back of the book provides a short multiple answer quiz to help learners remember what they’ve read.

See enhancement resources and links, as well as 9 other reviews of National Geographic Kids books at: http://www.dorendamico.com/10-awesome...

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beauty might be in the eye of the beholder, but there is something undeniably charming about all these so-called "ugly" animals featured in this slim volume for young readers. The book is organized according to where they might be found so readers first meet a rosy-lipped batfish and then a tapir as well as several other interesting animals. The book concludes with a quiz and an image of a tiny water bear that is able to live in extremely cold temperatures, even in outer space. The book made me think about all the wonders that surround me, and all the things I cannot see. This one will be a hit with boys and girls who are just learning to read on their own.

[Shelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son loves this book. And the photographs are excellent. We've renewed this from the library once so far and I wouldn't be surprised if my son wanted it even longer.

[Lauri Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun quick easy reader witg crazy pictures and delicious facts.

[Keegan Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Informational
Grade: K-2
A really cool book to learn about a lot of different animals and grow in reading skill at the same time. A tool used in a lot of classrooms and one I'd like to use in mine.

[shemah · Rating 2 out of 5]

#2024

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great colour photos and interesting text in a big font. Up to five or six sentences per page, with some difficult words like "tentacles" and "amphibian".

[Kirsti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and informative. I guess ugly is in the eye of the beholder, because those golden poison dart frogs are CUTE. (Each one also has enough poison on its skin to kill ten people.)

[Natalie Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose this book because I was intrigued by the title and the image shown on the cover and I think students would be too. This informational book is about strange looking animals that have interesting features that help them to survive. I liked that this book included many features of a typical non-fiction text such as photos with captions, labels, headings, and keywords. Each of these features are important for non-fiction texts as they help with the comprehension of the story and helps point out important information. If I were to use this in the classroom, I would either do a read-aloud with it and highlight the different non-fiction text features, or I would put it in the classroom library for students to read independently or with a partner. I think students would really enjoy this book and getting to learn about these "ugly" animals.

[Tyler Bankston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such an inviting book for young readers. They get to see hilarious pictures of unique animals while learning new info. The info presented gives students a reason for why the animals are made they way they are made. This is a book students will keep coming back to and share with friends!