Review Detail

‘If the World Were 100 Animals: A Visual Guide to Earth’s Amazing Creatures’ by Miranda Smith, illustrated by Aaron Cushley, takes readers on an interesting, eye-catching journey through the animal kingdom. Readers can look at the book straight on for many pages, but other pages allow the book to be turned on its side to see a long view of the many charismatic creatures that populate the world.

Starting off with the question: “How many animals have you ever seen?” the book delves into more questions, such as “What makes vertebrates different from invertebrates?” along with “Where do wild land mammals live?” or “How many mammals live in the sea?” or “How many kinds of animals can fly?” among others. Endangered species, animals that have become extinct, and even which animals are most deadly to humans round out the types of questions asked in this book that includes a plethora of details about not only the present state of animals, but a future outlook.

Picturing the world as merely 100 animals shines a light on the utter necessity of protecting the animals that do still exist and taking action to ensure their survival. There are so many different options of how to move forward in helping with this, and the book names a few, while showcasing how the numbers can be intensely telling of both the struggles and wonders of the animal population.