Have you looked at any of DK Publishing’s Definitive Visual Guides? They’re a series of well-organized, easy-to-use books that are both absorbing and beautiful. It’s awfully hard to choose a favorite, but if you backed me into a corner I might have to go with Animal.
Two large introductory sections are filled with information on evolution, classification, anatomy, life cycles, and habitats, but the biggest section of the book is devoted to descriptions of animals. Creatures are grouped into phyla and classes, and classes are further subdivided into orders, families, genera, and species. There are sections on endangered animals at the end of each class division, and the book concludes with an excellent glossary and a comprehensive index.
However, the images are what really make this book special. Each animal is depicted in a stunning, detailed photograph. Some of the more spectacular, box-office species (grizzly bear, great white shark, bald eagle) are given two-page spreads that usually feature one very large photo and several smaller ones that might illustrate, for example, a behavior, or perhaps variations in the appearance of individuals. Along with text descriptions of the animals, each entry has a map showing the location of the species, symbols for the habitats where they live, and a chart illustrating a few basic facts such as size, average lifespan, status of the population, etc.
Most of the titles in the Definitive Visual Guide series deal with scientific subjects (Earth, Universe, Human) but DK has now begun to branch out into other areas too. I recently received History as a gift and have barely dipped into it, but I can already tell that I’m going to like it – a lot. You might feel the same – why not check one out and see what you think?
Entries (RSS)