THE REALLY AMAZING ANIMAL BOOK
by Dawn Sirett & illustrated by Geoff Brightling & Peter Anderson
The Really Amazing Animal Book ($9.95; Dec. 12, 1996; 16 pp.; 0- 7894-1265-9): A really amazingly cluttered animal book of photographs and goofy drawings, accompanied by a goggle-eyed rubber alligator-cum-host, who asks questions that are answered (sort of) in double-page spreads. Punchy headlines and two or three sentences introduce the topic, e.g., under ``Powerful Poisons'' are photos of ``stabbing stingers'' (a sea anemone), ``fatal fangs'' (a rattlesnake), ``fast killer'' (Australian funnelweb spider), ``toxic chew'' (Gila monster), and ``bad skin'' (fire salamander). The book offers little real information, and attempts to hold interest with quips from cartoon characters who appear throughout. Glib and messy. (Picture book/nonfiction. 5-7)