Biggest, Strongest, Fastest, by Steve Jenkins

Bibliographic Data
Jenkins, Steve. 1995. Biggest, Strongest, Fastest. New York: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0395697018

Summary
Biggest, Strongest, Fastest tells about fourteen animals that are the longest, smallest, or some other superlative in the animal kingdom.

Critical Analysis
If this book simply told readers he biggest, strongest, and fastest animals, that would probably be fine, but Jenkins takes care to make his book as superior as the animals he writes about. Each layout features the animal in question, charmingly yet carefully illustrated in paper collage, accompanied by a relevant fact, such as this one about the fastest animal, the cheetah:

“A cheetah can reach speeds of over 60 miles an hour, but only for a few hundred
feet. When it chases another fast animal, such as an antelope, the cheetah must
catch it quickly.”

However, the best part of each layout is the small visual aid that compares the animal to something that all children can relate to, usually the human figure. The biggest land animal, longest snake, and the smallest animal are all shown next to a human. The electric eel, which gives the biggest shock, is shown next to 5 light bulbs to illustrate the amount of voltage it emits. These descriptions are particularly helpful when you consider the ant. Knowing that it has the strength to lift five other ants doesn't seem like much. To help readers understand, the chart shows an ant lifting five other ants, next to a man lifting one man. The caption tells us that a strong man can usually only carry something equal to his own weight, and suddenly we understand why an ant was chosen to be the "strongest" animal!

One interesting note; the author was careful to use gender-neutral terminology in the book, not comparing the fastest, strongest, largest creatures to men except in the case of the ant. In the last illustration, the flea was contrasted with a woman, who could only match the flea’s skills if “she could leap to the top of a 65-story building.”

Reviews
From School Library Journal:
“The realistic, inventive, textured illustrations, mostly double spreads, flow smoothly from page to page. A helpful chart at the end contains further information about each creature, such as diet and habitat. An all-round superlative effort.” - Jan Shepherd Ross, Copyright 1995, Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist:
“The facts are amazing. Their juxtaposition makes you gasp, not just about size and speed but about comparative wonders. … Here's proof that power isn't just about size and that science can be a lot of fun.” - Hazel Rochman, March 1995, copyright American Library Association

Connections
Kids seem to love record books, so this one should be a fun one for students to peruse during free reading time. It will also be helpful when discussing animals in a geography unit, or when discussing comparison words. This is a book for a wide variety of age groups, easy enough for preschoolers to understand, but with facts interesting enough for older children (and even adults) to consider.


*****

Reviews found at the Carrollton Public Library website, http://cityofcarrollton.com/library/