children's nonfiction picture book (very large, life-size pictures of animals and/or parts of their heads). I've shared this book with several classes now (K-3rd grades) and they seem to like it. The "fun facts" in the text inserts aren't always that interesting, but there is still plenty to draw their attention. This book leads to a lot of open-ended observations so you may want to be reconsider if your class tends to spout their lil mouths off all at once. Otherwise, enjoy. ( )

Life-Size Zoo is extra large book that features actual size pictures and facts on over 20 different animals. The informational page on the elephant has a picture that is so large you have to fold out both pages of the book to capture it all. This is a wonderful book for students to share together on a big table or on the floor. It is perfect for several children to enjoy at once! ( )

This informational book gives readers a chance to learn about each individual animals as well as their characteristics and habitats. ( )

Life Size Zoo is an informational book containing all the animals in a zoo and all about the animal. I loved this book! In my opinion it was an overall fun book that gave me a lot of information but made it super fun. I loved this book for two main reasons. First reason is they way it was organized. From the first page we see the zoo come to life because the table of contents is organized like a zoo map. The different animals are around the zoo and have page numbers on them for where they would be in the book. I thought this was a cute and interesting way to organize the table of contents and made it feel like a zoo. I also liked how on each page there was the animal and some text but then on the side there was the name of the animal photographed, since the pictures where taken at an actual zoo in Japan. An example is for the Gorilla they put his name Yamato, with this they also put his scientific name, age and gender; they did this with every animal too. I thought was a cool thing to add because again it makes it more fun and interesting all the while informing as well. The pages also had interesting facts on this side marker about the animal. The cutest of all was the book would point out certain things about the animal and would ask the reader if you could spot this. For example for a zebra the “close up” they called it said “Lots of hair inside her ears?” asking the reader if they could spot this. I felt this was such an interesting way to organize the book and feel it helped to convey it’s overall purpose, which was to inform and interest the reader in zoo animals. It also made the book so much more engaging to the reader and interesting. The other reason I loved this book was for the illustration. First of the book was a big book, which I feel helped the animals come to life. It also had amazing photographs where the reader can literally see every hair on the animal because they were so clear and close up. For example in the picture of the tiger the reader can see the taste buds on the tiger’s tongue. I also like the illustrations because the author even included pullouts. This made the book even more fun and helped the reader really experience the animals as if they were actually in a zoo. ( )

Life-Size Zoo is an interactive and informative treat for the eyes. Each page presents a high-resolution photograph of an animal’s head in true-to-life size. With this book, animals seem less abstract and distant; it reveals their realism and amplifies their wonder. Readers can measure their finger against a tiger tooth or see how tiny their head is compared to the elephant’s on a fold out spread.

Each animal’s photograph is accompanied by an educational sidebar in three parts. The top box provides facts about the individual animal, including name and age. Animal enthusiasts will love memorizing the complicated scientific names given here.

The “Time for a Close Up” segment invites readers to put on their scientist eyes and closely examine the photographs for details they may have missed at first glance: for example, the deceptive texture of a koala’s fur, or the human like ears of the gorilla. The fun facts section gives quirky yet illuminating information about the animal, such as how many times a panda poops in a day or how a tiger marks its territory.

Editor Komiya is the Director of the Tokyo Ueno Zoo. Photographer Fukuda has 20+ years of experiences photographing animals in zoos and in the wild. Highly recommended. ( )