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Animals by the Numbers: A Book of Infographics
How many species are there across the globe?
How much do all of the insects in the world collectively weigh?
How far can animals travel?
Steve Jenkins answers these questions and many more with numbers, images, innovation, and authoritative science in his latest work of illustrated nonfiction . Jenkins layers his signature cut-paper illustrations alongside computer graphics and a text that is teeming with fresh, unexpected, and accurate zoological information ready for readers to easily devour. The level of scientific research paired with Jenkins’ creativity and accessible infographics is unmatched and sure to wow fans old and new.
How much do all of the insects in the world collectively weigh?
How far can animals travel?
Steve Jenkins answers these questions and many more with numbers, images, innovation, and authoritative science in his latest work of illustrated nonfiction . Jenkins layers his signature cut-paper illustrations alongside computer graphics and a text that is teeming with fresh, unexpected, and accurate zoological information ready for readers to easily devour. The level of scientific research paired with Jenkins’ creativity and accessible infographics is unmatched and sure to wow fans old and new.
48 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2016
15 people are currently reading
372 people want to read
About the author
Steve Jenkins
134 books236 followersSteve 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 196 reviews
September 30, 2024
If I were to approach Steve Jenkins' Animals by the Numbers: A Book on Infographics simply with consideration as to what the author textually presents and how he makes numbers not only interesting to and for children (older children above the age of nine or so, as the vocabulary used is by necessity and nature rather advanced at times) but also how Jenkins delightfully and evocatively demonstrates the importance of numbers and infographics with regard to biology and zoology (by statistically comparing and contrasting animal species, how fast they are, how much they weigh, rates of extinction, migration distances and so on and so on) I would most definitely be ranking By the Numbers: A Book on Infographics with four or perhaps even five stars. However, as informative and yes even as fun and as personally educational as I have found Animals by the Numbers: A Book on Infographics to be (and I sure do wish that I had had a book like this as a child, as it might well have made numbers and even mathematics more interesting, more relevant and less potentially frightening and frustrating) I do find it rather majorly annoying that there are no suggestions for further reading, for additional study and research included (and that the Kindle edition of Animals by the Numbers: A Book on Infographics sports a text, sports written words rendered, featured in such a tiny font, with such low and washed out contrast so as to make reading difficult at best and pretty much eye-strain and headache inducing for those of us with less than perfect vision). Still, I would nevertheless highly recommend Animals by the Numbers: A Book on Infographics both for entertainment and educational purposes (as I do well realise that for the intended audience, the lack of a bibliography with suggestions for further reading would probably not be that much of an issue, but I would most vehemently and definitely NOT recommend reading Animals by the Numbers: A Book on Infographics on the Kindle, as an e-book, I would absolutely suggest perusing it as a paper, as a so-called dead tree book instead, because the tiny font sizes of the Kindle version do leave very much to be desired).
November 28, 2016
Steve Jenkins's books are reliably outstanding and this new book of infographics offers stunning illustrations and design with accurate scientific information. Kids will pore over this book and read sections again and again.
October 27, 2017
The weight of all termites on Earth is double the weight of all humans on Earth. A gnat beats its wings a thousand times per second. The bulldog bat is one of the loudest animals, but humans can’t hear its high-pitched sounds. Crocodiles kill three hundred times more humans each year than sharks. Only three Red River soft-shelled turtles are still in existence, two in zoos and one in a Vietnamese lake. Who knew?
Animals by the Numbers: A Book of Animal Infographics will fascinate animal lovers and others. Animals are automatically appealing to many young readers, but this book also includes strange facts about familiar and unfamiliar species that will intrigue many curious minds.
Author Steve Jenkins goes beyond the animal focus to present data in a variety of infographic formats: pie charts, flow charts, bar graphs, and many others, making Animals by the Numbers a helpful guide as students consider and decide how to best visually represent or report different types of information. These infographics are presented alongside Jenkins’s own artwork depicting many different animals.
Jenkins’s strong integration of content and format will make Animals by the Numbers one of the most appealing, useful books in any collection.
Animals by the Numbers: A Book of Animal Infographics will fascinate animal lovers and others. Animals are automatically appealing to many young readers, but this book also includes strange facts about familiar and unfamiliar species that will intrigue many curious minds.
Author Steve Jenkins goes beyond the animal focus to present data in a variety of infographic formats: pie charts, flow charts, bar graphs, and many others, making Animals by the Numbers a helpful guide as students consider and decide how to best visually represent or report different types of information. These infographics are presented alongside Jenkins’s own artwork depicting many different animals.
Jenkins’s strong integration of content and format will make Animals by the Numbers one of the most appealing, useful books in any collection.
May 21, 2017
Such a great book! Informative and visually interesting. Kids (and adults) will love studying the infographics about animals.
July 15, 2020
This is an amazing book with lots of facts about animals: their speeds, weights, sizes, length of life, and much more! As an adult, I learned all kinds of information!
January 30, 2018
Throughout my early elementary years, I loved reading informational books, especially ones that had interesting graphs to look at. It was difficult for me to find these kinds of books that also had rich, research-based content in them as well. All of these criteria can be found in Animals by the Numbers by Steve Jenkins. And in addition to this, it is also extremely visually pleasing.
The first thing I saw when I opened the book was a large pie graph showing the number of each specific kind of animal there were in the book. This drew my attention in, as I could see that there was hundreds of animals that would be discussed in the book. As I went through the information in the book, I found it dense, yet not overwhelming, as there were still many amazing illustrations of animals. The one that stood out to me the most was the illustration of the tardigrade, or water bear, on page 41, as I did not know that this kind of animal even existed. The only critique I had was the colors of the extinct versus the animals still alive today on page 10 and 11, as they were too similar.
The backmatter of this book was also very useful, as it gave a bibliography of the sources used in order to gain the information needed to write and illustrate this book, as well as an author’s note describing how he gathered and used his information. This book is something that I can see a early elementary school teacher using before a unit on animals.
The first thing I saw when I opened the book was a large pie graph showing the number of each specific kind of animal there were in the book. This drew my attention in, as I could see that there was hundreds of animals that would be discussed in the book. As I went through the information in the book, I found it dense, yet not overwhelming, as there were still many amazing illustrations of animals. The one that stood out to me the most was the illustration of the tardigrade, or water bear, on page 41, as I did not know that this kind of animal even existed. The only critique I had was the colors of the extinct versus the animals still alive today on page 10 and 11, as they were too similar.
The backmatter of this book was also very useful, as it gave a bibliography of the sources used in order to gain the information needed to write and illustrate this book, as well as an author’s note describing how he gathered and used his information. This book is something that I can see a early elementary school teacher using before a unit on animals.
April 11, 2017
What a neat book! Loved the info graphics and there are tons of interesting facts. Did you know that giraffes only sleep for 2.5 hours per day? Well, now you do. Read this book and you'll know a bunch of other cool stuff too.
July 31, 2017
Terrific resource about animals species by the numbers-population, size, groups, etc. Utterly fascinating, a tad daunting, but amazing text through and through.
March 28, 2018
I got this book for my kids, but I loved it! It was so interesting. It was full of fun facts and eye opening information about animals.
February 2, 2025
Another absolutely great book from Steve Jenkins, author of the similar Our World: By the Numbers — and sadly, the last one available from our library.
The facts themselves here are amazing enough, but Jenkins' cool infographics presents them with simple but startling clarity. For example, these pages comparing the total biomass of various species not only show that the total biomass of termites and the deep ocean bristlemouth fish are more than double that of the world's human population — but those are absolutely dwarfed by the total mass of insects, which outweigh humans 100 billion to a mere 350 million tons:
Similar charts present the "world's deadliest animals," rightly placing sharks at the bottom (only 10 deaths/year), crocodiles somewhere in the middle (1,500 deaths/year, ahead of hippos — 500 — but surprisingly behind dogs — an amazing 55,000 annual deaths, mainly due to rabies), and all FAR behind mosquitoes, which are responsibly for 1 million deaths every year. Meanwhile, other pages highlight longest tongues, loudest sounds, various horns and antlers, extreme environments, levels of poisonicity/toxicity, migration ranges (with arctic terns traveling a remarkable 44,000 miles/year), etc. And one of my favorites — total number of species: only 5,500 mammal species (the lowest), compared to 7,450 amphibians, 10,000 reptiles, 33,000 fish, 67,000 crustaceans, 90,000 mollusks — and over 1 million insect species, (which makes for a mind-blowing pie chart).
(And moving from entomology to etymology, that again reminds me of the delightful fact that the words "general" and "specific" come from the basic classification terms "genus" and "species.")
Book really has to be read to be enjoyed — please check your local libraries to see if this is available!
The facts themselves here are amazing enough, but Jenkins' cool infographics presents them with simple but startling clarity. For example, these pages comparing the total biomass of various species not only show that the total biomass of termites and the deep ocean bristlemouth fish are more than double that of the world's human population — but those are absolutely dwarfed by the total mass of insects, which outweigh humans 100 billion to a mere 350 million tons:
Similar charts present the "world's deadliest animals," rightly placing sharks at the bottom (only 10 deaths/year), crocodiles somewhere in the middle (1,500 deaths/year, ahead of hippos — 500 — but surprisingly behind dogs — an amazing 55,000 annual deaths, mainly due to rabies), and all FAR behind mosquitoes, which are responsibly for 1 million deaths every year. Meanwhile, other pages highlight longest tongues, loudest sounds, various horns and antlers, extreme environments, levels of poisonicity/toxicity, migration ranges (with arctic terns traveling a remarkable 44,000 miles/year), etc. And one of my favorites — total number of species: only 5,500 mammal species (the lowest), compared to 7,450 amphibians, 10,000 reptiles, 33,000 fish, 67,000 crustaceans, 90,000 mollusks — and over 1 million insect species, (which makes for a mind-blowing pie chart).
(And moving from entomology to etymology, that again reminds me of the delightful fact that the words "general" and "specific" come from the basic classification terms "genus" and "species.")
Book really has to be read to be enjoyed — please check your local libraries to see if this is available!
April 20, 2020
The Steve Jenkins book “Animals by the Numbers: A Book of Animal infographics” is a great resource in an upper elementary classroom, specifically 4th or 5th grade. The book takes readers through a variety of statistics related to all aspects of animals. Graphs and charts organize animals by their characteristics, classification, habitat, and lifestyle to compare them. With many facts and statistics, this book may seem overwhelming at first but with the pairing illustrations, students are able to follow along and put the information into perspective. The variety of graphic organizers expose readers to data tools and brings in math and science concepts.
Instructionally, I think this book is a great resource to implement in my classroom. First, I would use it in my book library under the non-fiction section. I would allow for students to read this during free choice reading during the day and encourage students to use it for a book talk if they wanted. Providing a substantial amount of texts with variety for students to choose from is important to build their comfortability in reading. Another instructional implementation is using this book for reference when doing an animal research report. I would have students choose an animal to research and report through data similar to the book’s information. This picture book would be a good reference for how to properly report data and statistics.
This was a Steve Jenkins WOW book because it packs in so much science information into an engaging picture book. I believe student interest in animals can be strengthened with picture books like this because as a college student I enjoyed reading it. I learned so much from this book and really like how he writes.
Instructionally, I think this book is a great resource to implement in my classroom. First, I would use it in my book library under the non-fiction section. I would allow for students to read this during free choice reading during the day and encourage students to use it for a book talk if they wanted. Providing a substantial amount of texts with variety for students to choose from is important to build their comfortability in reading. Another instructional implementation is using this book for reference when doing an animal research report. I would have students choose an animal to research and report through data similar to the book’s information. This picture book would be a good reference for how to properly report data and statistics.
This was a Steve Jenkins WOW book because it packs in so much science information into an engaging picture book. I believe student interest in animals can be strengthened with picture books like this because as a college student I enjoyed reading it. I learned so much from this book and really like how he writes.
April 19, 2020
Genre: Informational Text
Animals by the numbers is a set of infographics made to represent the various facts about exotic animals across the world. It features the most dangerous animal, the smelliest animal, and the fastest animal. These infographics use both pictures and blocks of text to convey lots of information about animals from all around the world. I would use this in a 3rd-grade classroom.
An activity that could be used in a classroom with this could be the students choosing an animal from the book that interests them, and they create a new infographic on many facts about that animal
Another activity you could do with this text is every student would pick a section of the book, and explain in more detail what the author is talking about. They would do more research and keep learning all about the facts listed.
This was an Etext
This was a wow book for me because it was such a cool melding of art, literature, and science. There were so many different types of facts, and different animals listed. I found myself chuckling at some of the text, so I am sure my students would love this book. I loved to read all about the comparisons and I learned so much!
Animals by the numbers is a set of infographics made to represent the various facts about exotic animals across the world. It features the most dangerous animal, the smelliest animal, and the fastest animal. These infographics use both pictures and blocks of text to convey lots of information about animals from all around the world. I would use this in a 3rd-grade classroom.
An activity that could be used in a classroom with this could be the students choosing an animal from the book that interests them, and they create a new infographic on many facts about that animal
Another activity you could do with this text is every student would pick a section of the book, and explain in more detail what the author is talking about. They would do more research and keep learning all about the facts listed.
This was an Etext
This was a wow book for me because it was such a cool melding of art, literature, and science. There were so many different types of facts, and different animals listed. I found myself chuckling at some of the text, so I am sure my students would love this book. I loved to read all about the comparisons and I learned so much!
January 1, 2017
Jenkins puts together a great infographics book that should capture young browsers' attention and fascination. Did you know the loudest creature on earth is as loud as a jet plane but we cannot hear the bulldog bat because the noise is higher pitched than what we can hear? I do question one stat: he says cats sleep on the average 13 hours a day. I always heard more like 18 hours.. A quick check found 13 seems to be on the lower end of what cats sleep. In general I see a range from 12 to 20 hours. Did you know that using the criteria of how many humans are killed by a species in a year, sharks come off as less dangerous than dogs, because of rabies? BTW mosquitoes win hands down as the most deadly animal. Err, wings down?
I have to say this book did not give Jenkins as much scope for his lovely artwork as other books have. However, check out the Tardigrade or water bear, on page 41. That one grabbed my attention, as did his crocodile. Many of the birds in this book are stunning.
This will be the perfect book to put on library displays but be prepared to have it grabbed quickly!
I have to say this book did not give Jenkins as much scope for his lovely artwork as other books have. However, check out the Tardigrade or water bear, on page 41. That one grabbed my attention, as did his crocodile. Many of the birds in this book are stunning.
This will be the perfect book to put on library displays but be prepared to have it grabbed quickly!
March 5, 2017
Reviewed for Mock Caldecott Awards--still trying to finish up the ones I should have reviewed in January. This book would be best for an older child who is showing a real interest in numbers and the animal world. The illustrations are well done and the charts are colorful but there is not a real story. A couple of the interesting facts that I learned was the biomass of all the humans in the world is about 300 million tons while the biomass of all insects is 100 billion tons. Also, that the mosquito is the deadliest animal in the world--causing 1,000,000 deaths a year. Very interesting, just not for little ones.
November 9, 2017
A lighter fare for infographic lovers or data nerds, it showcases the things you'd think it would showcase-- sizing, deadliness, but included fun things like heart rate and decibels that their sounds make. It's definitely is fun to read through and doesn't provide any explosive new information but does what it intended it to do.
September 29, 2018
Nominated for 18-19 WAW Award I thought the infographics might have taken away from the usual illustration style, but not so!
So many things in this book blew my mind, especially how big a blue whale heart is! We had great conversations from this book!
So many things in this book blew my mind, especially how big a blue whale heart is! We had great conversations from this book!
December 15, 2016
Very interesting comparisons between a large variety of animals, on topics such as size, speed, endangered status, how dangerous, etc.
December 26, 2016
Absolutely engrossing!
July 22, 2017
I could read this for hours; a reference-type book that presents a bunch of infographics about different animal characteristics.
February 10, 2021
Rounded up because I learned several things, and the infographics drummed home more that I knew but hadn't fully comprehended.
Sharks aren't even the most deadly animals, with hippos and crocodiles accounting for 50 to 150 times more human deaths per year, while mosquitoes cause about 1,000,000 a year.
Tardigrades are the things that will be around long after everything else has passed. They have even survived for days in the cold and vacuum of space and up to 304 degrees Fahrenheit.
Never really fully comprehended that their have been 5 mass extinctions and that we are in the midst of a sixth.
Sharks aren't even the most deadly animals, with hippos and crocodiles accounting for 50 to 150 times more human deaths per year, while mosquitoes cause about 1,000,000 a year.
Tardigrades are the things that will be around long after everything else has passed. They have even survived for days in the cold and vacuum of space and up to 304 degrees Fahrenheit.
Never really fully comprehended that their have been 5 mass extinctions and that we are in the midst of a sixth.
December 10, 2024
Animals By The Numbers is a nonfiction picture book full of facts about different animals. The author does a great job of incorporating different kinds of all species and animals to inform us on size, weight, speed etc. This book would be very entertaining for students to learn about the different kinds of animals throughout the world. Animals By The Numbers would be a great read for young readers to become familiar with all types of animals and facts.
January 26, 2018
Animals by the Numbers is a fascinating book where every page is full of jaw dropping facts about animals, both living and extinct. The cover of the book is covered in bright colors with a few different types graphs and some animals, like a crocodile and an insect to name two. On the inside flap there are a few exciting questions like, “Which animal can survive both boiling water and the vacuum of of space?” The back cover has small pictures of animals with a fun fact about them like, “A blue whale’s heart is the size of a small car.” These questions on the inside flap and the back cover of the book pull the reader in and make them want to learn more about animals that they already know, and learn about animals that they may have never heard of.
Jenkins succeeds in the challenging task of presenting number data, statistics to children in a enjoyable and captivating way. The pages are not text heavy at all, creating a less overwhelming feeling for a book all about numbers and facts. While there are not that many words on the pages, the words that are on the pages are succinct and purposeful in revealing all sorts of facts about the animals on this planet. Jenkins does a fantastic job in balancing the amount of individual statistics on an animal with statistics that compare a common action or feature of multiple animals, so that the reader never knows what is coming on the next page. The backmatter is presented on the very last page of the book in a bibliography containing books and websites that were used in creating Animals by the Numbers. Above the bibliography Jenkins writes a short snippet that is very transparent about how he conducted research, giving his book authenticity and credibility.
Where Animals by the Numbers really comes to life though is in its illustrations. Jenkins does an amazing job in using colors, animals, size, proportions, and graphs to mesmerize the reader on every single page. On some pages animals are drawn life size. On others they use circle sizes as proportions to stun the reader. There are all types of graphs. There are bar charts, pie charts, multi-level pie charts, doughnut charts, flow charts, process charts, pictographs, and more. What all the graphs have in common though is their vibrant colors bringing life to the numbers. The success of this book is due to the perfect combination of numbers, graphs, and illustrations of animals as there is just enough of each of the three aspects to keep the reader engaged.
Animals by the Numbers is a great read as it has such a breadth of what it can offer to the reader. There are elements of math, science, art, and of course reading all in this one book with animals, numbers, graphs, proportions, comparisons, and facts. Even though it’s a children’s book, this is a great read no matter what age you are. I showed my dad this book and he looked like a little kid again with pure enjoyment on his face while reading all the crazy facts about animals this book. If you love animals, are a numbers person, totally into random facts, or just simply want to learn something new this is the book for you!
Jenkins succeeds in the challenging task of presenting number data, statistics to children in a enjoyable and captivating way. The pages are not text heavy at all, creating a less overwhelming feeling for a book all about numbers and facts. While there are not that many words on the pages, the words that are on the pages are succinct and purposeful in revealing all sorts of facts about the animals on this planet. Jenkins does a fantastic job in balancing the amount of individual statistics on an animal with statistics that compare a common action or feature of multiple animals, so that the reader never knows what is coming on the next page. The backmatter is presented on the very last page of the book in a bibliography containing books and websites that were used in creating Animals by the Numbers. Above the bibliography Jenkins writes a short snippet that is very transparent about how he conducted research, giving his book authenticity and credibility.
Where Animals by the Numbers really comes to life though is in its illustrations. Jenkins does an amazing job in using colors, animals, size, proportions, and graphs to mesmerize the reader on every single page. On some pages animals are drawn life size. On others they use circle sizes as proportions to stun the reader. There are all types of graphs. There are bar charts, pie charts, multi-level pie charts, doughnut charts, flow charts, process charts, pictographs, and more. What all the graphs have in common though is their vibrant colors bringing life to the numbers. The success of this book is due to the perfect combination of numbers, graphs, and illustrations of animals as there is just enough of each of the three aspects to keep the reader engaged.
Animals by the Numbers is a great read as it has such a breadth of what it can offer to the reader. There are elements of math, science, art, and of course reading all in this one book with animals, numbers, graphs, proportions, comparisons, and facts. Even though it’s a children’s book, this is a great read no matter what age you are. I showed my dad this book and he looked like a little kid again with pure enjoyment on his face while reading all the crazy facts about animals this book. If you love animals, are a numbers person, totally into random facts, or just simply want to learn something new this is the book for you!
June 3, 2017
This wonderful book by award-winning writer/illustrator Steve Jenkins presents facts and figures about animals in a visual manner, in the form of graphs, symbols, and illustrations. As Edward Tufte, Yale professor emeritus and pioneer in the field of data visualization, points out in his book Envisioning Information, the world is complex and multidimensional, and we have an enormous accumulation of material about it. Visual depictions help us manage all that information in a succinct, artistically pleasing, and informative way. They are, he observes “treasures, complex and witty, rich with meaning.”
Many such treasures fill this book, teaching us about relative weights and speeds of animals; which animals can survive the most extreme conditions; which are the most dangerous; the sounds they make; how far they travel in search of food, mates, or habitat; and so on. Best of all, humans are always added to the mix, so you can make comparisons.
For example, in the infographic on maximum speed, we see that while humans can run at approximately 23 mph, peregrine falcons can fly at speeds of up to 200 mph! Cheetahs race at 64 mph and even whales, the slowest on the scale, top out at 16 mph.
You may be astonished to learn that koi fish can live up to 226 years! Even lobsters, if they stay away from restaurants, can reach the grand old age of 140 years.
The information on heartbeats per minute ranges from hummingbirds at an amazing 1,200 beats per minute to the blue whale at a stately 10 beats per minutes. (Humans average 70 beats per minute.)
Would you have guessed that wildebeests take part in the largest migration of land animals on earth? Or that snow leopards can leap fifty feet at a time? How about the fact that a bulldog bat is as loud as a jet plane taking off?
All these facts and more are presented in such a colorful, reader-friendly format that you can learn a great deal in a very short time, enjoying every minute of it.
Evaluation: If you have kids who like animals, science, or who have lots of questions about the natural world, this book will be perfect.
Many such treasures fill this book, teaching us about relative weights and speeds of animals; which animals can survive the most extreme conditions; which are the most dangerous; the sounds they make; how far they travel in search of food, mates, or habitat; and so on. Best of all, humans are always added to the mix, so you can make comparisons.
For example, in the infographic on maximum speed, we see that while humans can run at approximately 23 mph, peregrine falcons can fly at speeds of up to 200 mph! Cheetahs race at 64 mph and even whales, the slowest on the scale, top out at 16 mph.
You may be astonished to learn that koi fish can live up to 226 years! Even lobsters, if they stay away from restaurants, can reach the grand old age of 140 years.
The information on heartbeats per minute ranges from hummingbirds at an amazing 1,200 beats per minute to the blue whale at a stately 10 beats per minutes. (Humans average 70 beats per minute.)
Would you have guessed that wildebeests take part in the largest migration of land animals on earth? Or that snow leopards can leap fifty feet at a time? How about the fact that a bulldog bat is as loud as a jet plane taking off?
All these facts and more are presented in such a colorful, reader-friendly format that you can learn a great deal in a very short time, enjoying every minute of it.
Evaluation: If you have kids who like animals, science, or who have lots of questions about the natural world, this book will be perfect.
Read
April 20, 2020Extra Credit: Animals by the numbers by Steve Jenkins is a huge book all about animals that engages the readers with lots of new information on every page. The entire book is made up of several different infographics that inform readers about the different functions of animals and compares them to other animals that are similar or might be different. The infographics and illustrations do a great job of engaging their reader and keeping their eyes on the important information that Jenkins is trying to get across to them. The infographics organize all the research done by Jenkins in an appealing way that hooks readers in and makes them take the time to read each individual set of text that is in relation with the different infographics. I would use this book with third through fifth graders to engage them with a variety of activities but one that comes to mind is a research type project that students pick one of the topics from a page (i.e.-migration, mass extinctions, temperature etc.) and using this book as their main source of research, find two other books that will help with their research and use them to complete the project. I would want students to focus on the topic that they chose and find a new way to present the information that Jenkins has provided them to become the experts on their topic and then teach their classmates about the information they have learned. Another activity I would do with my students with this book would be to create a math scavenger hunt that has students solving problems using the information from specific pages in the book to engage with math and science content. This book was a WOW book for me because of the amazing infographics and the activities that I would want to use for my future classroom after having students read this book. The amount of interactiveness this book provides for readers keeps them hooked and engaged and helps them understand a lot of content that is thoughtfully placed for ultimate understanding.
January 25, 2018
Animals by the Numbers is a compendium of mind-boggling facts, figures, and more! In terms of illustrations, Jenkins uses a graphical combination of paper collage, words, and numbers to elegantly frame the table of contents—inviting the reader to explore! The table of contents draws the reader in with unexpected and colorful prompts. This technique reduces a common anxiety over informational texts, which are generally perceived as overwhelming or inaccessible.
The infographics are comprised of animal anatomy and physiology, pie charts, bar graphs, timelines, proportionally scaled graphics, histograms, etc. The data is presented on generous double-page spreads along with clear labels, which presents information in a concise and aesthetically pleasing way. Jenkins utilizes accessible language for young readers, which facilitates comprehension and incites them to pore over the text for hours! For instance, he categorizes animals by, “Little & Big”, “Long & Short”, “Jump,” “How fast?” Every category is connected back to humans, which provides novel perspectives about human impact on natural life.
The infographics are evidenced by extensive research conducted by the American Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, and other reputable organizations. The bibliography validates accuracy and legitimacy—for both students and educators. In the backmatter, Jenkins discusses where he conceived all the numerical data and how he dealt with challenges—such as disagreements within the scientific community. His explanations convey to readers the continuous efforts of science to produce knowledge for the populace. The bibliography also serves as an initial point of research to other topics or sources. Overall, the book reflects exactly what young readers desire to know—proportionally increasing cognitive engagement and interest in the sciences!
The infographics are comprised of animal anatomy and physiology, pie charts, bar graphs, timelines, proportionally scaled graphics, histograms, etc. The data is presented on generous double-page spreads along with clear labels, which presents information in a concise and aesthetically pleasing way. Jenkins utilizes accessible language for young readers, which facilitates comprehension and incites them to pore over the text for hours! For instance, he categorizes animals by, “Little & Big”, “Long & Short”, “Jump,” “How fast?” Every category is connected back to humans, which provides novel perspectives about human impact on natural life.
The infographics are evidenced by extensive research conducted by the American Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, and other reputable organizations. The bibliography validates accuracy and legitimacy—for both students and educators. In the backmatter, Jenkins discusses where he conceived all the numerical data and how he dealt with challenges—such as disagreements within the scientific community. His explanations convey to readers the continuous efforts of science to produce knowledge for the populace. The bibliography also serves as an initial point of research to other topics or sources. Overall, the book reflects exactly what young readers desire to know—proportionally increasing cognitive engagement and interest in the sciences!
December 5, 2018
Summary: This book contains a lot of really great information about different animals. The sections of the book are broken down into categories such as biomass, speed, kingdoms, and species. There is a really unique section about the length of different animal horns. The author incorporates many useful visuals all throughout the book. The end of the book contains bibliography information with some useful websites.
Evaluation: I really like that even if you are not on the reading level for all of the words in this book yet there are many pictures to help you figure out what is going on. For example, on the biomass page the size of the circle represents which species has a larger or smaller biomass. There are many different infographs that can be used for discussion without even having to read all of the words. Even though this book has a lot of information it is very engaging at the same time. I think this is a great way to integrate some nonfiction reading into the classroom during a science or math lesson.
Teaching Idea: Before reading this book to the class I would talk about a favorite animal of mine and share some interesting facts about that animal. I would tell them we are going to learn many interesting animal facts about different animals even including humans. After reading the book aloud we would focus further on comparing and contrasting different animals. We would discuss some of the infographs that were used. I would model a venn diagram to compare and contrast two animals. We would come up with an infograph together as a class. Students would be given an animal of their own to research. Then, they would break into small groups to compare and contrast and create a few infographs.
Evaluation: I really like that even if you are not on the reading level for all of the words in this book yet there are many pictures to help you figure out what is going on. For example, on the biomass page the size of the circle represents which species has a larger or smaller biomass. There are many different infographs that can be used for discussion without even having to read all of the words. Even though this book has a lot of information it is very engaging at the same time. I think this is a great way to integrate some nonfiction reading into the classroom during a science or math lesson.
Teaching Idea: Before reading this book to the class I would talk about a favorite animal of mine and share some interesting facts about that animal. I would tell them we are going to learn many interesting animal facts about different animals even including humans. After reading the book aloud we would focus further on comparing and contrasting different animals. We would discuss some of the infographs that were used. I would model a venn diagram to compare and contrast two animals. We would come up with an infograph together as a class. Students would be given an animal of their own to research. Then, they would break into small groups to compare and contrast and create a few infographs.
April 9, 2018
Animals by the Numbers is a fascinating book where every page is full of jaw dropping facts about animals, both living and extinct. It is very difficult to find rich, research-based content filled books, yet this book completely serves its purpose. This book by Steve Jenkins is full of amazing and creative infographics all about really cool animal facts covering topics from extreme sizes to populations and lifespan. They put crazy facts with numbers into perspective with visuals and comparisons that even a child could understand. One of my favorites was that a Morgan’s Sphinx Moth has the longest tongue to body ratio, and it says “if your tongue were as long as this moth’s, you’d be able to lick an ice cream come that’s on the other side of a room.” From the detailed collages to the really incredible facts, this would be a great book for any child interested in animals to explore independently. Not only does Animals have beautifully designed graphics, but it also has fun and interesting facts. Many different styles of info graphics are provided in this book - not just pie charts or line graphs. This text can be in an elementary, middle, or high school library. This book provides first level and second level infographic examples, and provides examples of quick and easy-to-understand infographics. This would be a great book to keep in a classroom for a read aloud, or for students to read on their own for fun. The book ties in so many different subjects and would be a great asset in any classroom. I believe this book was written to be informative, but with a very kid friendly approach and they have succeeded in doing that. I would definetly recommend this book.
October 11, 2017
I loved reading this book! This is the first book I have seen with this type of format. It was really easy to follow along with and it presented the information so that I could read the facts, but also see charts, graphs, and diagrams explaining the material. The illustrations were very colorful and bold which brought the pages to life. This made me want to learn all the facts about different animals! Because each page was set up differently it made me stay engaged in the book and accomplished because I could remember what exactly I was reading about.
As an elementary school teacher, I loved the style of this book. It is extremely engaging and inventive for students to follow along with. I could use this for many different strategies in my classroom. The book does a great job with comparing and contrasting animals different sizes, the heart beats they have per minute, and how fast or slow they are. This would be an interesting way to introduce how to compare or contrast by modeling how it is done for animals. It would also be very beneficial to incorporate with a science lesson. It would help build the connection between literature and science and be material that the children would enjoy! I could explain the different types in charts and what each part means which could even overlap with math. The book ties in so many different subjects and would be a great asset in my classroom. I believe this book was written to be informative, but with a very kid friendly approach and they have succeeded in doing that.
As an elementary school teacher, I loved the style of this book. It is extremely engaging and inventive for students to follow along with. I could use this for many different strategies in my classroom. The book does a great job with comparing and contrasting animals different sizes, the heart beats they have per minute, and how fast or slow they are. This would be an interesting way to introduce how to compare or contrast by modeling how it is done for animals. It would also be very beneficial to incorporate with a science lesson. It would help build the connection between literature and science and be material that the children would enjoy! I could explain the different types in charts and what each part means which could even overlap with math. The book ties in so many different subjects and would be a great asset in my classroom. I believe this book was written to be informative, but with a very kid friendly approach and they have succeeded in doing that.
June 14, 2017
This book was a NCTE 2017 Honor book. It gives facts about animals using info-graphs and numbers. Overall, I think this book did a nice job giving good facts. It is obvious that the author did his research, he has a bibliography in the back. He also makes sure to state when some numbers or graphs are approximations and not exact facts. This book was a very engaging way for students to learn about animals because of the use of pictures and info-graphs. However, I wonder if maybe they should have used real photos instead of drawings. I also think that this book was a little long for younger students to read. This book also had some complex sentence structures and vocabulary such as perish and extinction. The book does write in a way that the reader can figure out the word, but students may need help seeing that. That is why it is important that we as teachers are guiding students through this and other non-fiction books. I would recommend this book for 3-5th grade, however I think that this book can also be good as a read aloud for younger students if reading only a couple of pages at a time. I would use this book in my classroom to connect math and science, since this book uses numbers to teach facts. I would have students look up their own facts and create an info-graph about their facts.
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April 27, 2020Creating: What facts can you compile about humans in their comparison to animals in the text?
Evaluating: What would you select as the most important information learned in this text?
Analyzing: What conclusions can you draw about the various tongue lengths/size of animals?
Applying: How would you organize the information about the maximum speed of animals in the air, on land, and in water?
Understanding: What can you say about the term “biomass” and how it is connected to animals and humans?
Remembering: How do scientists typically divide animals?
Analyzing: Tongues are most important to animals that need to “reach” for food. These animals may use their tongue to eat insects in tight places like logs or burrows. These animals may use their tongue to eat plants that are in high places. Flying insects might also be food for animals with long tongues.
It seems that the smaller the animal is, the “longer” the tongue. For example, even though a giraffe has a 20 inch long tongue, it is small in comparison to the size of its body (Jenkins, 2016, p. 26-27). Whereas a Morgan’s sphinx moth, a small insect, has about a 3 inch long tongue, which is 3 times the size of its body (p. 26-27).
Creating response on canvas
Jenkins, S. (2016). Animals by the numbers: A book of infographics. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Evaluating: What would you select as the most important information learned in this text?
Analyzing: What conclusions can you draw about the various tongue lengths/size of animals?
Applying: How would you organize the information about the maximum speed of animals in the air, on land, and in water?
Understanding: What can you say about the term “biomass” and how it is connected to animals and humans?
Remembering: How do scientists typically divide animals?
Analyzing: Tongues are most important to animals that need to “reach” for food. These animals may use their tongue to eat insects in tight places like logs or burrows. These animals may use their tongue to eat plants that are in high places. Flying insects might also be food for animals with long tongues.
It seems that the smaller the animal is, the “longer” the tongue. For example, even though a giraffe has a 20 inch long tongue, it is small in comparison to the size of its body (Jenkins, 2016, p. 26-27). Whereas a Morgan’s sphinx moth, a small insect, has about a 3 inch long tongue, which is 3 times the size of its body (p. 26-27).
Creating response on canvas
Jenkins, S. (2016). Animals by the numbers: A book of infographics. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
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