The disgusting fun continues in this nonfiction compilation of all that is gross and gruesome in nature. I admit the previous book, Don't read this book before dinner was a bit too much for my stomach, but I don't mind animal grossness (I did skip the section on cockroaches though.)

Stewart organizes the grossness into three sections, disgusting dinners, disgusting dwellings, and disgusting defenses. Readers will learn about rabbits eating their own poop, animals that eat blood, creatures that eat their own family members and more. Then there are the animals that live in poop, slime, and possibly even you! Animals defend themselves by flinging poop, exploding, spitting, and more gross and stinky methods.

The most interesting fact for me was the information on the red-billed oxpecker. Long thought to be a symbiotic relationship, eating the ticks on mammals, it turns out they're actually more vampiric, waiting for the ticks to fill with blood and pecking at open wounds!

Lots of gruesome photography is included, although it tends to avoid graphic pictures of dead animals. A glossary, sources, credits, and index are included.

Verdict: An informative and fun addition to your weird animal fact books.

ISBN: 9781426337468; Published June 2020 by National Geographic; Review copy provided by the publisher; Donated to the library; Purchased for the library