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Animals Eat the Weirdest Things
Cover Animals Eat the Weirdest Things
Author: Diane Swanson
Publisher: Whitecap Books
Product: Book (64 pages)
Ages: 8 to 11
Cost: $14.95 (CDN)
   
Next time someone looks at your oozing pizza pop and says you eat strange stuff, you can tell them you’re not alone. Animals Eat the Weirdest Things is packed with information about some of the more unusual edibles in the animal world. Believe it or not, just about everything—from shoe polish to sandals, eggshells to antlers—makes a tasty animal treat.
     Learn about critters that like blood on their menu and others that prefer a little skin. Find out why rats chew on elephant toenails; how the mouthless, stomachless hagfish eats; and why porcupines like to chew on sweat-soaked wood once in a while. And in case you think pizza pops are the only weird snack people eat, this book will set you straight: people also eat bird’s nest soup, tarantulas, and ants. So sit up straight, keep your elbows off the table, and don’t forget to save the tarantula fangs for picking your teeth after dinner!
Jenna Gubbels

Reviewer: Jenna Gubbels
Age: 11

The book seemed to follow in good sequence, and the pictures were nice. The topic was very interesting because I really like animals. I was very interested to learn that people eat spiders, including tarantulas. This book even taught me that some people eat the bellies of leafcutter ants. They eat them like popcorn.
     My least favourite part of the book was the part about the vampire bats because it talked so much about blood. Animals sure do eat the strangest things like dung, vomit, and sometimes they eat another animal of the same species.
     I had a lot of fun reading this book, it really kept my interest. I didn’t want to put it down, but sometimes I had no choice. The pictures attracted my attention—I really looked at them and observed the details. This is a very fascinating book. If there are more books by this author, I will probably buy them. I think everyone will like this book.

Editor’s note: Diane Swanson has published many other wonderful books including Bug Bites, Why Seals Blow Their Noses, and Coyotes in the Crosswalk.

(Originally published in the Winter 1999 issue of YES Mag.)


Copyright © 2003 Peter Piper Publishing Inc.
Last updated April 14, 2003.