The iIllustrated encyclopaedia of dangerous animals

by Sami Bayly

With more than sixty of the most deadly and dangerous animals from across the world to explore, every page of this beautifully illustrated volume is more eye-opening than the last. You will learn interesting facts about these fascinating species, (many of which you won't have even known were deadly) such as how they have adapted to survive and whether we should be threatened by these animals or appreciate them for their incredible features. Children and adults alike will pore over the breathtaking scientific illustrations of unusual animals from the geography cone snail to the wolverine, the Irukandji jellyfish to the slow loris, debating their relative dangerous features, learning about science and nature along the way.

Genres: Animals, Nonfiction, Picture Books, Childrens, Science

126 pages, Hardcover

Published September 1, 2020

About the author

Sami is 27 years old and is currently based in Newcastle, NSW.

She has released 4 books, 3 of which are part of The Illustrated Encyclopaedia series: The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Ugly Animals, The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Dangerous Animals and The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Peculiar Pairs in Nature.

With her 4th being the first of a newly released series, How We Came To Be - Surprising Sea Creatures.
All published by Lothian/Hachette Australia.

Over the years Sami has won and been nominated for numerous awards, these include:
Winner of the Children's Indie Book of the Year Award - Indie Book Awards
Winner of the Environmental Award for Children’s Literature Non-fiction - The Wilderness Society
Winner of the Sun Project Shadow Judging - Shadowers’ Choice for the Eve Pownall Award - CBCA
Winner of the Best Designed Children’s Non-Fiction Illustrated book - Australian Book Design Awards.
2020 GOLD Winner for the Juvenile Non-Fiction Award - Foreword Reviews
Honour for the Eve Pownall Award - CBCA
Shortlisted for the Book of the Year for Younger Children - ABIA’s
Shortlisted for the Booksellers' Choice 2020 Book of the Year Awards - ABA’s
Shortlisted for the Children’s Book of The Year - Queensland Literacy Awards
Highly Commended for the NSW Community Educator of the Year - AAEE
Longlisted for the World Illustration Awards (Science & Technology category) - Association of Illustrators
Included in the top 50 Favourite Australian Books - Booktopia
Winner of the Emerging Artist Competition - The Olive Tree Market
Winner of the Start Your Studio Scholarship Award - Jasco Art
Winner of the William Fletcher Foundation Fund - University of Newcastle
Co-winner of the Scientific Illustration Scholarship - Australian Museum

Her books have also been published overseas in numerous countries including the UK, USA, South Korea and Russia. With future publications to be released in Sweden, Israel, China and more.

To keep up to date you can follow Sami on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samibayly/

Reviews

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully designed and presented companion to Bayly's earlier work , The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Ugly Animals, this book presents 60 animals from across the globe, multiple habitats and different classifications and species to amaze and fascinate any reader interested in our natural world.
Each animal is presented on a double page spread with finely detailed realistic painted illustrations of each creature on one page and the accompanying page follows a consistent structured to describe the animal, discuss why it is dangerous, consider its conservation statues, diet, location and habitat and presents some fun, and truly fascinating, facts. a comparative size silhouette and fine line sketches support the expository text.

An excellent information book that is easy to read and intriguing in the content shared on dangerous traits and its connections with other species, including humans.

[Crouton · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book I've read by Bayly. The first was also part of this series but the Peculiar Pairs. I absolutely loved them both. I read both books cover to cover. I love having this book by my bed and just reading a page or two here and there between other books and learning something new about an animal. As always, the illustrations are stunning. And although these books would be great for kids they never feel like they talk down to children which makes them equally as interesting for adults to read. I think she chose a really diverse and wide range of animals for this book, not just the stereotypical ones you'd think of for a "dangerous" book. I can't wait to read the rest from this series.

[KoTuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book overall is good, my favourite subject is science biology because I like animals. All the animals have each fact written and their all true it has most animals that are pretty dangerous and venomous. The pictures have good details 👍 let’s talk about the boomslang it has good details it’s pretty big aswell and they’re green the eyes are big. Thx for listening to my review now sub to my twitch “ops_kotuk” and my YouTube “KoTuk gaming” thx

[Charlie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Couldn't read it from start to finish and just had to flick to random pages 😂

[Year 5 · Rating 5 out of 5]

One the most dangerous animals is the blue ringed octopus

[Silky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read to Milo

[I _teach_muggles · Rating 5 out of 5]

Following on from her debut book, The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Ugly Animals - which I absolutely loved -, author and illustrator Sami Bayly now turns her attention to dangerous animals in another superb encyclopaedia.

What do you think of when you hear the phrase ‘dangerous animals’? Snakes, tigers, piranhas, grizzly bears, vultures, something else? If you think you know dangerous animals, it is time to think again. Animals come in all shapes and sizes and in the world of dangerous animals, size and weight do not matter. The tiny Irukandji Jellyfish - which has a diameter of twenty-five millimetres and is ‘almost invisible to the average person’ - is just as dangerous as the Common Hippopotamus that ‘can reach four metres in length and up to two-thousand-seven-hundred kilograms.’ The sixty animals that Bayly focuses on exhibit all kinds of dangerous characteristics including; size, strength, speed, sharp teeth, claws, poisons, venoms, toxins and carrying infectious diseases.

This all sounds very frightening and it would be easy to be convinced that we’d be safer to stay indoors as animals are out to get us. However, this would be to misunderstand the animals. Bayly regularly highlights that many animals are not aggressive by nature and rarely attack without cause, as readers will quickly learn, the animals in this book are not out to cause harm but will do so if they feel threatened or their territory is encroached. Bayly has a huge respect for the animals that she writes about and urges readers to share this respect and treat animals with caution.

Animals are introduced alphabetically and everything is clearly presented with a formulaic structure throughout. Each double page spread features a beautiful hand-drawn illustration of a ‘dangerous' animal, and the opposite page features factual information including a description, danger factor, conservation status, diet, location/habitat and fun facts. A shadow illustration of the animal next to a human/human hand provides a great size comparison.

Fun facts are brilliant and I loved learning that I could potentially get a blood transfusion from a chimpanzee, that hippos produce their own sun cream, that the Mosaic Crab carries a grade one chemical weapon and that the Red Devil Squid moves using jet propulsion - truly fascinating stuff and the kind of trivia that is great for impressing friends with.

It is a fabulously curated collection and Bayly’s passion and knowledge for her subject matter oozes from the pages. From the care in the illustrations to the vast array of facts and details, there is much to admire and delight in and knowledge-hungry children will definitely get their fill.

Danger rating: High. Enjoyment rating: Extremely high.

Recommended for 8+.

[The Book Squirrel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This might even be better than "ugly animals"! I really like the layout, with clear sections describing why the animal is considered dangerous and where it rates on the endagered scale. And, of course, the illustrations are amazing!! Love it! It is a must-have in school and public libraries and would be a great gift for children who love science, facts and animals.