“Jenkins’ newest presents a parade of cut-paper animals, each accompanied by a pithy line of text. Additional facts are included at the back, along with a complete illustration of each animal.” - Horn Book Guide One or two brief sentences, followed by the animal's height/length and weight, accompany each picture. “Jenkins’s signature cut-paper collages are once again amazing in this oversize book containing life-size illustrations of eighteen creatures great and small. A thoroughly engaging read-aloud and a must-have for any collection.” - Dona Ratterree, School Library Journal “Mixing deceptive simplicity with absolute clarity, this beautiful book is an enticing way to introduce children to the glorious diversity of our natural world, or to illustrate to budding scientists the importance of comparison, measurement, observation, and record keeping. Make sure to compare your hand to the gorilla hand. The last four pages of the book include a complete picture of each animal represented on the previous pages-useful when only a part of the whole animal was shown-along with additional information about each creature. From the tiny half-inch dwarf goby to the 12-inch eye of the giant squid, children, and adults alike, will be captivated by the images. The torn and cut paper collages set against white backgrounds give the illustrations a three dimensional lifelike quality. It’s a shame that metric measurements were not included as well since they are universal in the sciences. The entry for the ostrich, for example, states that the ostrich is the largest bird, averaging 9 feet in height and weighing 340 pounds. Each illustration includes a single sentence about the animal shown and facts about its size. How small is the smallest fish? How large is the largest insect? How big is a gorilla’s hand? In Actual Size, Steve Jenkins answers these questions and more about animals by using life-sized illustrations.

Actual size by steve jenkins