Daddy Mojo reads: Curious Critters by David FitzSimmons

We’ve been reading to Toddler Mojo since he was born.  Now that he’s older, i.e. a toddler, his books are getting more complex.  He has his books that are age appropriate, as well as, several that are beyond his reach, but still enjoyable because of the pictures.

Curious Critters is a book that our toddler loves to look at.  Each page features a brilliantly sharp image of critters that inspire imagination.   The Fox Snake and Southern Flying Squirrel are among the more common critters featured.  Common critters, but their images are large, sharp and detailed.

Every image is amazing.  From the teeth of the Big Brown Bat to the Virginia Opossum, their hair stands out, claws all but scratch the pages and you feel like you have to touch the page to be certain they’re not coming out.

The photography is also very clever.  The pictures of the smaller critters like the Jumping Spider are taken head on, with the body blurred, but the head remaining sharp and in focus.  This illusion give the reader real dimension to the photography and a 3-D effect.  Check out the website for some amazing examples of the photography.

All the critters have ‘first person’ description beside them.  They’re quick to read and long enough to feel like the parent is teaching something, yet short enough to hold the toddlers attention.  Maybe the toddler is looking at the critter, but we know some education is getting in there.

At the end of the book there’s a detailed description of each critter and a life-size silhouette page.  The silhouette page is great for them to look at because it helps their imagination and lets them know how big the critters really are.  There’s also a glossary of terms for all of the animal terms used in the detailed description.

As you may have guessed, Curious Critters isn’t just for kids.  Our toddler looks at the book under our supervision so he doesn’t mess up the pages.  Older kids will enjoy the photographs and be challenged by the stories and poems associated with each critter.  Adults who into nature will love the photography and like relaxing to the entire package.

Daddy Mojo reads is a review series on books.  Sometimes it’ll be a children’s book and other times it will be a popular fiction or non-fiction book.  I’m not scared to stop a book halfway through if it’s losing me or just isn’t interesting-life is too short to waste on a bad book.  In the case of Curious Critters we did receive a promotional copy of the book.