Mini Monsters Nature's Tiniest and Most Terrifying Creatures

This Expert Guide to "Mini Monsters: Nature's Tiniest and Most Terrifying Creatures" is a treasure trove for children! In fact, every child should own a copy of this book (depending on his/her age and interests). Did I say frightening? Disgusting? Hideous? Terrifying? At some point nearly all children want the horrors of the animal world to look at, ponder, match up with their idea of the world in comparison to what is really there. Bogeymen? Scorpions? Bird eating spiders? Which is scarier? Do you know that 13-15 million species inhabit this earth, with thousands more discovered each year. Diversity in the animal world is a real word. Despite differences "the prime drive of every species is to be successful: to grow, to reproduce, and to have offspring which do the same" (8). What an animal eats depends on what Mother Nature has given it as tools. Bugs cannot hunt meat if they don't have powerful forelegs and paralyzing toxins. Sharp canines and flat grinding molars both chew but the first one rips and the second kind pulps. The "mini monsters" in this book number 300. The editors point out that if an animal eats the young of another animal, it is neither good nor bad; it is just being practical. Food was there--he took it! Each creature is given one slick page with a descriptive paragraph, then a chart outlining place of habitat, description of habitat, size, reproduction, life span, and typical diet. The book itself is small--5 inches x 6 1/4 inches. Here's the well-known Stink Bug, but do you know that there are 5500 stink bugs in the family. It kills its prey by toxin, but exudes a foul odor to deter the hunter after him! The Bird-Eating Spider actually prefers mice or small lizard or baby birds to full-grown birds. What sets this spider apart is his hunting tactics: he hunts down his prey, rather than trapping in a web. Here's a real terror in the Mini Monster category: Human Louse. There are two kinds--head and body. The eggs of both feast on human blood, but body lice are much worse than head lice as they can transmit serious diseases cuh as typhus, relapsing fever, and trench fever. And a last mini monster is the Fire-bellied Toad, of which there are six species. This little critter has two defenses to ward off predators: the red coloring of his belly and a foul-tasting mucus which causes the predator to spit him out! The library's copy of this book is falling apart because of constant borrowing, although it is a well-made book. Time for a new book of Mini Monsters! Or two books! Two is better!

My son loves this book. He got it for xmas when he was 3. It entertained him for most of the 14 hours it took to get to my parents house. He is 7 now and it is still his favorite book. I have also given it as gifts for his friends birthdays and have been told that it was their favorite gift!!

My son got this for his 6th B-day and absolutely loves it! A couple of the pages show the same pitures with different info, but most kids probably won't notice that. It is compact and holds a wealth of information. I learned more than I need to know about ugly little critters.