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Sad Animal Facts
Sad Animal Facts: Baby Talk
No one ever said it was easy being young, and it’s especially true if you’re a little creature out in the jungles, forests, deserts, and oceans of the big, bad world. Following on the success of her Instagram feed and first book, Sad Animal Facts, Brooke Barker continues her examination of the various foibles and pitfalls of the zoological world, but with its fledgling members this time around. Featuring more than 100 entries, the book is organized into the categories of Mammals, Birds, Reptiles, Amphibians, Insects & Miscellaneous Invertebrates, Marsupials, Fish, and Aquatic Mammals. Every animal gets a hand-drawn image, an informative caption, and a wry quotation, and in the back, there’s an appendix with further zoological details and humor to flesh out each entry. Between a great track record, a consistently engaged and growing following, and the universal appeal of cute little baby animals, Barker’s next book could be her biggest.
192 pages, Hardcover
Published October 4, 2018
About the author
Brooke Barker
17 books60 followersBrooke Barker is a writer, illustrator and animal enthusiast living in Portland, Oregon. She’s the creator of Sad Animal Facts and the co-creator of the It’s Different Every Day calendar, and a former copywriter at Wieden+Kennedy. She has a dog who can never eat chocolate and three guppies who can't take naps because they don't have eyelids.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
August 21, 2019
Un libro liviano y entretenido, curioso y lleno de datos que te harán disfrutar durante un par de minutos, porque el libro se consume totalmente rápido. Las ilustraciones y los comentarios que la autora le agrega a cada una de ellas, lo hacen divertido, al igual que su primera parte.
No tengo mucho que decir, quizás no sea un libro para sacarte de un paron lector, pero si podría ayudarte a alivianarte la carga con algo que no tenga trama y solo puedas pasar y pasar las paginas.
No tengo mucho que decir, quizás no sea un libro para sacarte de un paron lector, pero si podría ayudarte a alivianarte la carga con algo que no tenga trama y solo puedas pasar y pasar las paginas.
October 24, 2022
I love this series and will read everything. Love the artwork and learning new things about animals. I especially loved how some animals stayed through every section, kind of like they were reading the book with you. My only criticism is that I wish more info was put on each page, like something in between the one sentence on the page and the small paragraph at the end.
May 18, 2019
Al igual que el libro anterior, lamentables datos animales, los datos curiosos de animales bebés resultan ser súper entretenidos. Este es un libro ideal para disfrutar en familia, se reirán y aprenderán las curiosidades del mundo animal.
January 17, 2019
Not quite as entertaining as the first but still great
May 10, 2023
“Sad Animal Babies” is a informative book that provides real and unfortunate fact about animal babies.
The book consists of an introduction, eight chapters, an appendix, index, and acknowledgments.
In the introduction, author Brooke Barker shares her story of teaching her experience interacting with babies as the sister of four younger siblings. Barker quickly presents the stark differences because the mostly comfortable lives human babies experience versus the dangerous lives of baby animals. Despite baby animals being cute, their fight for survival is not and Barker writes this book as a way to inform the reader as well as to inspire respect and reverence for the harsh early years baby animals have to endure to make it to adulthood.
In chapter one, “Baby Mammals,” some animal baby facts I found particularly interesting are “anteaters are always only children,” “badgers don’t open their eyes for the first six week of their lives,” “when pandas give birth to two babies, they choose one to raise,” “lions can’t roar until age two,” and “cheetah brothers stay together their whole lives, but cheetah sisters split up.”
In chapter two, “Baby Birds,” some animal baby facts I found particularly interesting are “baby birds who grow up without dads never learn to sing properly,” “turkeys can reproduce without mating,” “ostriches are fully grown in six months,” and “cuckoos lay their eggs in the nests of much smaller birds, who then raise the giant babies for them.”
In chapter three, “Baby Reptiles,” some animal baby facts I found particularly interesting are “newborn komodo dragons climb into trees so that their parents can’t catch them and eat them,” “no species of turtle raises its young,” “New Mexico whiptail lizards give birth only yo girls which are clones of their mother,” and “alligators are born with one extra-long tooth.”
In chapter four, “Baby Amphibians,” some animal baby facts I found particularly interesting are “black alpine salamanders live only ten years, but their pregnancies last three years,” “male Darwin’s frogs incubate their eggs in their mouths,” and “Axolotls never grow up.”
In chapter five, “Baby Insects and Miscellaneous Invertebrates,” some animal baby facts I found particularly interesting are “earwigs only take care of the babies that smell the best,” “an aphid can produce an identical copy of itself every twenty minutes,” “the first things a honeybee does is clean the place it was born,” and “when two snails mate, they both become pregnant.”
In chapter six, “Baby Marsupials,” some animal baby facts I found particularly interesting are “a newborn koala is the size of a jelly bean,” “honey possums weigh less than a sprinkle when they’re born,” “Tasmanian devils give birth to litters of fifty babies, who fight in their mother’s pouch until only a few living ones emerge,” and “platypuses are one of just a few mammals that lay eggs.”
In chapter seven, “Baby Fish,” some animal baby facts I found particularly interesting are “baby betta fish are cared for by their fathers, because their mothers try to eat them,” “seabream personalities are influenced by their peers,” “baby seahorses can be swept away by strong currents,” and “French Angelfish are never alone.”
In chapter eight, “Baby Cetaceans and Pinnipeds,” some animal baby facts I found particularly interesting are “sperm whales take turns babysitting,” “dolphin baby teeth are designed for fighting, not chewing,” “infant sea lions use sand as sunscreen,””orca calves don’t sleep for the first few months of their lives,” and “pilot whales are born with hair but lose it a few days later.”
Follow the course of eight chapters, Barker provides an appendix which provides more in depth information on the brief facts she provided earlier in the book. Despite this being a interesting and informative read, I was slightly annoyed that the chapter lengths were uneven with some chapters having many more animal baby facts than others.
The book consists of an introduction, eight chapters, an appendix, index, and acknowledgments.
In the introduction, author Brooke Barker shares her story of teaching her experience interacting with babies as the sister of four younger siblings. Barker quickly presents the stark differences because the mostly comfortable lives human babies experience versus the dangerous lives of baby animals. Despite baby animals being cute, their fight for survival is not and Barker writes this book as a way to inform the reader as well as to inspire respect and reverence for the harsh early years baby animals have to endure to make it to adulthood.
In chapter one, “Baby Mammals,” some animal baby facts I found particularly interesting are “anteaters are always only children,” “badgers don’t open their eyes for the first six week of their lives,” “when pandas give birth to two babies, they choose one to raise,” “lions can’t roar until age two,” and “cheetah brothers stay together their whole lives, but cheetah sisters split up.”
In chapter two, “Baby Birds,” some animal baby facts I found particularly interesting are “baby birds who grow up without dads never learn to sing properly,” “turkeys can reproduce without mating,” “ostriches are fully grown in six months,” and “cuckoos lay their eggs in the nests of much smaller birds, who then raise the giant babies for them.”
In chapter three, “Baby Reptiles,” some animal baby facts I found particularly interesting are “newborn komodo dragons climb into trees so that their parents can’t catch them and eat them,” “no species of turtle raises its young,” “New Mexico whiptail lizards give birth only yo girls which are clones of their mother,” and “alligators are born with one extra-long tooth.”
In chapter four, “Baby Amphibians,” some animal baby facts I found particularly interesting are “black alpine salamanders live only ten years, but their pregnancies last three years,” “male Darwin’s frogs incubate their eggs in their mouths,” and “Axolotls never grow up.”
In chapter five, “Baby Insects and Miscellaneous Invertebrates,” some animal baby facts I found particularly interesting are “earwigs only take care of the babies that smell the best,” “an aphid can produce an identical copy of itself every twenty minutes,” “the first things a honeybee does is clean the place it was born,” and “when two snails mate, they both become pregnant.”
In chapter six, “Baby Marsupials,” some animal baby facts I found particularly interesting are “a newborn koala is the size of a jelly bean,” “honey possums weigh less than a sprinkle when they’re born,” “Tasmanian devils give birth to litters of fifty babies, who fight in their mother’s pouch until only a few living ones emerge,” and “platypuses are one of just a few mammals that lay eggs.”
In chapter seven, “Baby Fish,” some animal baby facts I found particularly interesting are “baby betta fish are cared for by their fathers, because their mothers try to eat them,” “seabream personalities are influenced by their peers,” “baby seahorses can be swept away by strong currents,” and “French Angelfish are never alone.”
In chapter eight, “Baby Cetaceans and Pinnipeds,” some animal baby facts I found particularly interesting are “sperm whales take turns babysitting,” “dolphin baby teeth are designed for fighting, not chewing,” “infant sea lions use sand as sunscreen,””orca calves don’t sleep for the first few months of their lives,” and “pilot whales are born with hair but lose it a few days later.”
Follow the course of eight chapters, Barker provides an appendix which provides more in depth information on the brief facts she provided earlier in the book. Despite this being a interesting and informative read, I was slightly annoyed that the chapter lengths were uneven with some chapters having many more animal baby facts than others.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 29, 2020
Me gustó y se me hizo muy curioso, pero no sé bien como abordarlo para una reseña... No hay mucho que pueda decir de esta libro en sí, porque no es una historia. Son, como lo dice su título, datos de animales. Cada página nos espera con un nuevo dato curioso de algún animal, acompañado de coloridos y tiernos dibujos. El libro está dividido en capítulos que separan a los mamíferos de los reptiles, peces, marsupiales, insectos etc. Fue interesante de leer, aunque más allá del dato no hay explicación alguna.
May 26, 2020
Comencé a leer este libro por la portada porqué me pareció muy tierno ( A pesar del título) pero debo decir que me dejo con una inquietud, y es el darme cuenta de que en el mundo animal podemos encontrar situaciones que son realmente crueles pero que son parte de la vida de cada animal, recuerdo algunos datos como los del oso panda o el alce que me conmovieron. De todas formas lo recomiendo porque es muy informativo y tiene ilustraciones hermosas.
November 16, 2018
Definitely as good possibly even better than Sad Animal Facts. This one includes baby animals so of course it’s amaz-balls!
June 6, 2020
1. новорожденные слонята не умеют управлять хоботом.
2. мыши-полевки размножаются в трехнедельном возрасте.
3. крольчиха старается проводить как можно меньше времени с малышами, чтобы они не переняли ее запах.
4. детеныши фаналуки начинают собирать с родителями еду уже на восьмой день жизни.
5. самцы оленей-пуду не участвуют в воспитании потомства.
6. детеныши чепрачного тапира похожи на арбуз.
7. голые землекопы прогибаются под вышестоящих братьев и сестер.
8. молодого лосенка изгоняют из семьи перед рождением еще одного детеныша.
9. в стае лангуров новый вожак первым делом избавляется от всех детенышей.
10. слоны-подростки зачастую используют те же социальные модели, что и их мамы.
11. братья-гепарды остаются рядом всю жизнь, а вот сестры обычно разлучаются.
12. когда птенцы сапсана учатся охотиться, они по очереди исполняют роль жертвы.
13. индейки могут размножаться без спаривания.
14. птенцы, вырастающие без отцов, не умеют правильно петь [джингабельц! джингабельц!].
15. зеленый лесной удод умеет метать фекалии в неприятеля.
16. самки снежных зуйков бросают самцов сразу после появления потомства [нет времени! потом как-то наберу!].
17. зебровые амадины поют своим детям, когда становится жарко.
18. птенцы египетской цапли убивают братьев и сестер в отсутствие родителей.
19. попугаи кеа обычно развлекаются в одиночестве.
20. у аллигаторов при рождении один зуб намного длиннее остальных.
21. у тайпана достаточно яда, чтобы убить взрослого человека, но его рот так мал, что ему даже мышь не укусить.
22. ни один вид черепах не воспитывает потомство [а сказку на ночь я расскажу себе сам!]
23. у головастиков нет ног [детская футбольная лига? отмена!]
24. молодые ателопы цетека защищаются от нападения, выделяя кожей токсичный секрет [Britney Spears – Toxic]
25. аксолотли не вырастают.
26. тля может производить точную копию себя самой каждые 20 минут [это моя бабка! ей 60 минут!]
27. черный кружевной ткач вылупляется из яйца и сразу же пожирает свою мать.
28. у личинок божьих коровок по всему телу растут шипы.
29. осьминоги чистят детенышей, обнимая их.
30. детеныши морских звезд не могут контролировать направление своего движения [у самурая нет цели, только путь!]
31. у тасманийских дьяволов рождается до 50 детенышей и они бьются внутри материнской сумки, пока в живых не останутся всего несколько.
32. мальков бойцовых рыб воспитывает папа, потому что мама пытается их съесть.
33. на повадки морского окуня влияет его окружение [все будут с крыши прыгать, я тоже пойду!]
34. лосось всегда возвращается туда, где родился.
35. детеныши косаток не спят первые несколько месяцев жизни.
36. моржата играют с мертвыми птицами [шевелись!].
2. мыши-полевки размножаются в трехнедельном возрасте.
3. крольчиха старается проводить как можно меньше времени с малышами, чтобы они не переняли ее запах.
4. детеныши фаналуки начинают собирать с родителями еду уже на восьмой день жизни.
5. самцы оленей-пуду не участвуют в воспитании потомства.
6. детеныши чепрачного тапира похожи на арбуз.
7. голые землекопы прогибаются под вышестоящих братьев и сестер.
8. молодого лосенка изгоняют из семьи перед рождением еще одного детеныша.
9. в стае лангуров новый вожак первым делом избавляется от всех детенышей.
10. слоны-подростки зачастую используют те же социальные модели, что и их мамы.
11. братья-гепарды остаются рядом всю жизнь, а вот сестры обычно разлучаются.
12. когда птенцы сапсана учатся охотиться, они по очереди исполняют роль жертвы.
13. индейки могут размножаться без спаривания.
14. птенцы, вырастающие без отцов, не умеют правильно петь [джингабельц! джингабельц!].
15. зеленый лесной удод умеет метать фекалии в неприятеля.
16. самки снежных зуйков бросают самцов сразу после появления потомства [нет времени! потом как-то наберу!].
17. зебровые амадины поют своим детям, когда становится жарко.
18. птенцы египетской цапли убивают братьев и сестер в отсутствие родителей.
19. попугаи кеа обычно развлекаются в одиночестве.
20. у аллигаторов при рождении один зуб намного длиннее остальных.
21. у тайпана достаточно яда, чтобы убить взрослого человека, но его рот так мал, что ему даже мышь не укусить.
22. ни один вид черепах не воспитывает потомство [а сказку на ночь я расскажу себе сам!]
23. у головастиков нет ног [детская футбольная лига? отмена!]
24. молодые ателопы цетека защищаются от нападения, выделяя кожей токсичный секрет [Britney Spears – Toxic]
25. аксолотли не вырастают.
26. тля может производить точную копию себя самой каждые 20 минут [это моя бабка! ей 60 минут!]
27. черный кружевной ткач вылупляется из яйца и сразу же пожирает свою мать.
28. у личинок божьих коровок по всему телу растут шипы.
29. осьминоги чистят детенышей, обнимая их.
30. детеныши морских звезд не могут контролировать направление своего движения [у самурая нет цели, только путь!]
31. у тасманийских дьяволов рождается до 50 детенышей и они бьются внутри материнской сумки, пока в живых не останутся всего несколько.
32. мальков бойцовых рыб воспитывает папа, потому что мама пытается их съесть.
33. на повадки морского окуня влияет его окружение [все будут с крыши прыгать, я тоже пойду!]
34. лосось всегда возвращается туда, где родился.
35. детеныши косаток не спят первые несколько месяцев жизни.
36. моржата играют с мертвыми птицами [шевелись!].
August 30, 2021
I'm a Brooke Barker stan.
December 29, 2022
Entretenido, livianito. Viene con un apéndice con más información de cada dato, al final del libro.
February 3, 2026
A quick read but a cute, informative one at that! And the illustrations are so cute! Such a fun way to learn about all different species!
December 22, 2019
I got this as a gift from Secret Santa and I'm so happy I did! I liked the first book a lot and this one was just as good. Fun (but sad), short and interesting facts about baby animals - what's not to love?
November 10, 2020
Humorous little tidbits about baby animals.
October 28, 2018
Another collection of animal facts with charming illustrations. She reminds me of Liz Climo.
August 2, 2020
İlk önce bu kitaba neden iki yıldız verdiğimi açıklayayım. Çünkü kitap gerçekten çok sıkıcı😒.Neden mi? Çünkü hiç bir şey öğretmiyor. Hayvanların üzücü yanlarını anlatıyor ama alakasız ve saçma şeyler yazıyor. Kesinlikle tavsiye etmiyorum👎🏻. Ayrıca kitap üst düzeyde İngilizce. Yani çok bir şey anlayamadım. Büyükler için bile zor. Biz nasıl okuyabiliriz ki???!!!!???? Ama kitap çizgi roman sadece bu tarafı güzel. Ama okumaya değmez!!!!!!!!! Sakın almayın!!!!!! Tavsiye etmem👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 1, 2026
Me parece un libro de datos interesantes y curiosos, que a simple vista llegan a ser muy llamativos y atractivos para nosotros, no tan solo por la información que lleva dentro sino también por como fue hecho el libro de una manera más vistosa que llega a gustarle al lector y no sea tan solo leer largas páginas con muchos párrafos, en fin, un libro que vale bastante la pena leer, ya que nos da otro punto perspectiva de cómo realmente son las cosas en el reino animal y no todo es alegría y ternura, también tiene un lado muy triste y atroz de los hechos.
February 16, 2021
Как хорошо понимать, что я не кенгуру и в мою сумку не какают! Ура! Жизнь прекрасна.
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June 11, 2021Este es un libro de calidad ya que es un libro informativo, nos va mostrando los distintos tipos de animales y de que rama son, los dibujos e ilustraciones que contiene son básicos, claros y concisos ya que muestran exactamente de lo que se habla, el fondo es de un color o blanco y salen los animales que nos están presentando, también agregar que este libro ayuda a ejercitar la inteligencia de los lectores, aquí también se pueden ir cambiando las tonalidades de las voces que aparecen en el textos ya que son animales variados y se podrían interpretar las voces y por medio que nos van apareciendo estas distintas ilustraciones pueden surgir preguntas de los niños ya que son dibujos que llaman la atención y se abre para un tiempo de enseñanza.
March 23, 2021
Brooke Barker has gotten me through some rough times. This was a re-read, but honestly this classic deserves a place on every shelf. Seriously, if you know someone who is depressed this is the perfect combo of pitiful, hilarious, adorable, interesting, informative, and easy to read--so hand this to your local sad person and see no external difference in them, but inside they might have a flicker of a smile. Even now, in a slightly less depressed state, this book makes me happy to exist and grateful that nature is so hilariously stupid and awful. and so is life. 17/10 great book. Buy for all ages. Read aloud. Cut out the pages and hang up the art. I approve this book.
November 26, 2018
These bite-sized facts about animals and accompanying cute cartoons are a winning combination for me. Some are adorable (e.g., baby pilot whales are born with hair but soon go bald) while others are horrifying (e.g., a black lace-weaver spider mother encourages her babies to eat her alive), but all are "sad" in some sense. I always appreciate that in the back of her books, Brooke Barker includes more details about the facts and animals she selected.
April 10, 2019
Lots of interesting and sad facts about baby animals that I've never read anywhere else. Like I knew that rabbits leave their babies alone and only return to feed them at dawn and dusk, but did you know it's to protect the babies so they won't smell like their mommas and attract predators? So sad! The illustrations are super cute. Be sure to read the extra notes at the end which gives more details about the facts.
September 7, 2020
A collection of quick factual comics about baby animals. In the back of the book is further information about each sad animal baby fact.
Short, cute, and informative. I have over 40 books on my bulletin board for the library of books that are "New & Coming Soon" and this tied with A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes beating out all the others for the number of students putting holds on it before it even hit the shelves. Hand this to your favorite random facts sponge.
Short, cute, and informative. I have over 40 books on my bulletin board for the library of books that are "New & Coming Soon" and this tied with A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes beating out all the others for the number of students putting holds on it before it even hit the shelves. Hand this to your favorite random facts sponge.
May 21, 2020
Es un libro ligero con ilustraciones muy bonitas.
Pensaba que sería todo muy cute, pero a través de los datos se nos muestra la realidad del mundo animal, lo crudo que puede ser, pero la forma en que la autora nos narra hace que sea súper liviano pero aún así te hace reflexionar en cada página.
Es perfecto para aprender sobre los animales y sus curiosidades.
Pensaba que sería todo muy cute, pero a través de los datos se nos muestra la realidad del mundo animal, lo crudo que puede ser, pero la forma en que la autora nos narra hace que sea súper liviano pero aún así te hace reflexionar en cada página.
Es perfecto para aprender sobre los animales y sus curiosidades.
July 8, 2020
Un librito que se lee muy rápido, porque no trae mucho texto y viene acompañado con ilustraciones muy tiernas 🥺
Lo recomendaría para leer en familia o en compañía de niños, ya que trae datos interesantes, curiosos y es una forma entretenida para aprender sobre animales 💖
(Igual importante mencionar que al final los explica más en detalle)
Me gustaría en un futuro poder leer el otro libro.
Lo recomendaría para leer en familia o en compañía de niños, ya que trae datos interesantes, curiosos y es una forma entretenida para aprender sobre animales 💖
(Igual importante mencionar que al final los explica más en detalle)
Me gustaría en un futuro poder leer el otro libro.
January 21, 2021
Datos interesantes de baby animalitos con ilustraciones adorables. Este lo leí en digital y el visualizador era extraño y no podía hacer zoom. Solo por eso diría que prefiero Let's be weird together, principalmente porque la experiencia de leerlo en papel es mejor y porque mi edición venía con tatuajes temporales.
January 3, 2022
(4.5) I got this book for Christmas, and I had been super excited. It is really interesting and sad, and I love the drawings for each animal. The variety of animals is also impressive. I read this short book in one sitting, and my only critique is that not all of the facts are "sad;" some of them are just cool, rather than sad, but that doesn't really matter since it is a great book!
March 18, 2026
I was thinking this volume might be more like the last one with how humorous and silly it ended up being with the art and some of the facts, but while still adorable, this collection really is more fact based. Some of these facts were surprising, but a lot of them I was already aware of and/or didn't seem all that startling.
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April 23, 2026Cuốn này và cuốn Những Sự Thật Đắng Lòng Của Giới Động Vật(cùng tác giả), nếu người lớn đọc thì mở luôn phần phụ lục. Nội dung phụ lục đầy đủ hơn, đỡ lật trang nhiều.
July 15, 2020
In this beautifully illustrated compendium of sweet and sad facts, international bestseller Brooke Barker takes us into the world of baby animals and shows us just how complicated and adorable their creation and fight for survival can be.
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