Nonfiction - Animals Nobody Loves

Bibliography
Simon, Seymour. 2001. ANIMALS NOBODY LOVES. SeaStar Books: New York. ISBN 1587170809

Plot Summary
Seymour Simon gives us the facts about 20 of the most unloved animals in nature ranging from bats to the gila monster to piranahs. His purpose is to reveal the truth about these animals, some of which are misunderstood, so that we can decide how we feel about some of nature's weirdest, most dangerous, but also fascinating creatures.

Critical Analysis
Simon sets out to erase the "bad reputation" of the most unloved animals and help readers understand and respect them for what they are. However, sentences such as "The great white shark has a huge appetite and will eat any animal or person that it finds in its path" and "In just one tentacle, there are thousands of stingers that can hurt people as badly as the stings of a huge swarm of bees or wasps" only reinforces their "bad reputation."

Each animal is presented in a two page spread with a full page or larger photo and accompanying paragraphs of information. Although the information gives interesting facts and dispels a few myths such as the belief that bats are blind, it is very brief in length. The book is more useful for browsing the attention-grabbing photos and maybe learning a few interesting tidbits more than for research purposes. It includes a table of contents but has no index or list of sources.

The full color photographs are definitely eye-catching but do not do much to make the animals appear any more pleasing. Photographs such as a vulture picking at a dead carcass, a rattlesnake's gaping mouth revealing venemous fangs, and a wasp stinging another insect only make the animals more repulsive and scary to readers.

Review Excerpt(s)
BookList - "The photos (and even the text) won't do much to change the reputation of animals such as the vulture and the rat, but there's no denying they'll draw a crowd and a chorus of "Gross."
Kirkus Reviews - "Despite his introduction, Simon seldom notes the value of these disliked animals."

Connections
Other books about unliked animals:
Collard, Sneed B. CREEPY CREATURES. ISBN 0881068365
Pringle, Laurence P. ANIMAL MONSTERS: THE TRUTH ABOUT SCARY CREATURES. ISBN 0761450033