Review: ACTUAL SIZE, Module 8, Informational Books

Jenkins, Steve. 2004. ACTUAL SIZE. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. ISBN # 0618375945

This is an oversized picture book which shows children, through jolting illustrations, just how small or large various animals are. Each double page spread includes an eye-opening illustration along with specific information on the featured animal. The illustrations are skillfully created through cut and torn textured paper. Many of the featured animals are so large that only a portion can be shown in the illustration. The saltwater crocodile is cleverly done by one page doubling out, which allows for a three page spread. The giant squid focuses only on the huge eye which is a foot across and the great white shark shows only a portion of the giant mouth with a page of enormous jagged teeth. The text on the pages is minimal which allows the reader to focus on the visualization of the actual size of the creatures. This book ends with a section which includes a smaller, full body illustration of the animals along with a paragraph of additional interesting information. This is a very visually shocking choice and children will be intrigued while learning about the interesting facts included in this book.