Actual Size

Between the paper-cut collage, the huge pages, the factual information done in a fun way and just the overall style of the book makes this one of my favorites I've reviewed so far. Children and adults will love to measure themselves up to the 3 foot giant gippsland earthworm and find out that the giant squid's eyeball is bigger than their head. There is even an open out middle page of the world's largest frog and a crocodile that can chew your arm off in one bite. Steve Jenkins, author and illustrator, did an amazing job with this book and I believe it is enjoyable for all ages.

Looking through this oversized (about 10.25 by 12.25 inches on the outside) picture book is an eye-popping, dazzling experience. Steve Jenkins shows a variety of animals and animal body parts at their actual size. This alone is a great idea for a children's book, but Jenkins takes it further. Like a movie director, Jenkins varies his "shots" for maximal effect, moving, for example, from am entire pygmy mouse on one page, to much a Siberian tiger's face on the following two-page spread. It's not only a visual contrast, but an emotional one too; the mouse looks out innocently at the reader, while the tiger does what tigers sometimes do: Growl! You can feel--and then measure--the intense 1-½ inch eyes, and the two 2 ¼ inch fangs. Although most of the pictures take up two pages, Jenkins varies the animals, as well as how "close" they appear to the reader: HE begins with the largest butterfly (with a 12 inch wingspan), then contrasts this with a close-up of the eye of a giant squid. The WOW fact is just as big. In fact, it's so riveting that you might not see the smallish fish (the goby, 1/3 of an inch long) just opposite the butterfly. Termites are dwarfed by the two-foot tongue of their predator, the giant anteater. The picture consists of a 15-inch snout and a two-foot pink tongue, covered with four small termites. Here's a good question to ask your readers: How do you draw a two-foot tongue on a two-page spread that measures not quite 20 inches long? By making it curl around. The book is full of such opportunities for wide-eyed talk. A foot long spider (the "giant birdeater tarantula," with 12 inch legs, and a fantastic name) is followed by a three-page foldout of a crocodile. " What do they eat? People, among other things. After a very brief introduction, Jenkins names each animal and notes the more amazing size facts: The great white shark (all you can see is the top of its enormous mouth) , for example, is 21 feet long, weighs 3 tons, and has 4-inch long teeth. Jenkins uses collages of torn paper and excellent coloring to portray realistic textures and evoke emotion. It's a masterful turn at graphic representation, and there's a refreshing lack of sentimentality in the pictures. The book's last four pages depict all of the animals in their entirety, with a more detailed description of size, habitat, diet, and anything else that is interesting or amazing. Kids and adults will enjoy the enormous-feeling pictures, the diverse perspectives, as well as animal facts geared at multiple age levels. Jenkins takes a winning concept to exciting new dimensions. Very highly recommended for the animal lover and the budding illustrator.

Just this past week I did a welcome-to-the-library introductory class for roughly fifteen hepped-up first graders. This was the first time I'd done such a class, so I was a little nervous about how to reach 'em. The last thing I wanted was to bomb in front of them. I needed a picture book that would really capture their attention. That would make them sit up and take notice. That would let them believe that the library is a cool and happening place full of wonderful fascinating books. So to what book did I turn in my moment of trial? Why to Steve Jenkins' fabulous, "Actual Size", of course. This has suddenly become my sure-fire go-to book. No child that encounters this puppy walks away without falling deeply in love with it. All that and it's chock full of useful scientific facts too. The premise of "Actual Size" is canny. Using his customary illustration techniques of utilizing cut and torn paper, author/illustrator Steve Jenkins has created a book full of different kinds of animals. But unlike your average book that, say, summarizes the wingspan of the atlas moth, each illustration in this story is actual size. Which is to say, if the pygmy shrew is only two inches long, then the illustration of that shrew in this book will also be two inches long. This makes for some highly original displays. There's no way you could fit the entire giant squid into the book's pages. Therefore, one two-page spread is devoted entirely to the giant squid's eye (12 inches across and freaky freaky freaky). Other pages display an anteater's two-foot-long tongue (twisted about to fit in the necessary illustration). We get an up close and personal view of the four-inch jagged teeth of the great white shark. There are even huge insects (like the giant walking stick) and slimy critters (the monumentally disgusting 36-inch long Gippsland earthworm). Every page contains some brief facts and statistics about the creature being displayed, followed up by more in-depth material at the back of the book. Needless to say, kids can't get enough of "Actual Size". The best reactions you can get are when you have the kids compare their tiny hands with the gigantic mit of the gorilla. When I showed my engrossed class this illustration they went gaga, clamoring to reach out and "touch" the great primate's palm. Children also get wrapped up in some of the book's lesser known facts. I took a great deal of delight in informing my captive audience that the Goliath frog eats birds and rats. And, of course, some of their reactions were surprising. When I showed the anteater page, hoping to wow them with the idea of a tongue that's two-feet-long, they were instead thrilled that the picture showed termites. Go figure. If you're at all familiar with Jenkins' Caldecott honor winning, "What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?" then you know what to expect from him. Highly original cut paper pictures. We're not talking namby-pamby Eric Carle "The Very Hungry Caterp

Steve Jenkins' Actual Size can be enjoyed as a work of art. The animals or, if a large animal, part of an animal is illustrated using handmade paper collage. What may sound like just a clever concept, when skillfully executed, resulted in an awesome book. Some of the animals shown are the pigmy shrew, atlas moth, dwarf goby, Goliath frog, and giant squid. The dimensions of the animal is noted and as well as a paragraph about such things as habitat and diet which makes this a very interesting book. Karen Woodworth-Roman, Children's Science Book Review

This book has artwork depicting the actual size of abnormally large and abnormally small animals. You get to get up close and personal with a 3/4-inch fish and the 12 inch eye of the giant squid (which can grow up to 50+ feet long!!) and everything in the book is depicted actual size. We used this book for a storytime and the young kids LOVED comparing their hands against the critters in the book. Best of all, one of my co-workers literally jumped about six feet from a seated position just from glancing at the picture of the 12-inch in diameter spider. The book is worth just that alone!! Highly recommended for kids to understand the scale of nature.