Monday, May 9, 2011

Nonfiction Monday: Glow-in-the-dark Animals by Natalie Lunis

This book is from Bearport's new series, Animals with Super Powers and showcases animals with bioluminescence. After a brief introduction to the concept of bioluminescence, there is a section on fireflies, who use their lights to attract mates, New Zealand glowworms, railroad worms (in this section we learn what makes bioluminescence), the cucujo, a kind of beetle which is used as a lamp, dinoflagellates, which light up the sea, fireworms, anglerfish, and deep-sea jellyfish.

There is a brief section on other animals that glow, a glossary, and a brief index, bibliography, and section of further resources.

I usually really like Bearport's series, but this one didn't work well for me. I realize it's difficult to make night photography attractive, but many of the photos appeared to be pasted onto odd backgrounds, like the cover, and looked very strange. I would have liked to see the explanation of bioluminescence at the beginning of the book, instead of hidden in the middle. The different insects and sea animals were interesting, with different facts about each, but the book felt scattered and disorganized.

Verdict: An interesting topic and idea for a series, but too disorganized for my taste and the photographs were not attractive. Some of the other titles in this series might be a good addition, but I don't recommend this specific title.

ISBN: 9781617721199; Published January 2011 by Bearport; Review copy provided by the publisher

4 comments:

Carol H Rasco said...

My contribution for Nonfiction Monday is Way Out in the Desert by Marsh and Ward, http://bit.ly/moZr5M. Thank you for hosting!

Jennifer said...

Oops! the round up today is at http://www.shelf-employed.blogspot.com/

Books4Learning said...

fascinating topic...disappointed it is not done well though; I have been real pleased with the Bearport books I have read. I guess everyone can have a "dud" now and then :)

Jennifer said...

I have to say the kids really like it though - I had a kid see it on my desk being checked in and he begged me to save it for him and it's never been on the new shelf since. So, while I think the organization and photographs could have been done better, it does appear to have a lot of popular appeal and from what I've seen of the rest of the series it's better done.