BIZARRE BEASTS
by Anita Ganeri & illustrated by Elizabeth Kay
In this work, subtitled ``And Other Oddities of Nature,'' 12 spreads feature bizarre animals and plants and include sidebar discussions of other unusual products of the natural world. Among the oddities are the duck-billed platypus, hammerhead shark, matamata turtle, king vulture, vampire bat, Australian frilled lizard, giant anteater, and mandrill. Also appearing are incredible insects, fantastic fish, and amazing plants. Ganeri (Out of the Ark, p. 295, etc.) provides introductory paragraphs that are surrounded by five or six captioned full-color drawings, and a small range map as well as facts and vital statistics. The drawings, by various illustrators, are not to scale: The tiny vampire bat, with a wingspan of eight inches, appears the same size as the king vulture and its wing span of six-and-a-half feet; is the electric eel really larger than the swordfish? This title is fun for browsing, but not essential. (glossary, index) (Nonfiction. 8-10)