This is a beautiful, full-color over-sized book filled with pictures, maps, and loads of interesting facts on each page.

The book is divided into eight chapter with one for each continent plus the oceans. Each chapter is further divided into habitats with discussion and photos of the animals that make the region their home. Aside from a short introductory paragraph in each sub-chapter, most of the text for the descriptions of each animal are placed in brightly colored information boxes with a same colored line connecting them to a photo of the animal.

The writing is entertaining and easy to understand. Even children too young to read will enjoy having this read to them as they look at the photos and drawings and find the animals on the map.

Very creative and sure to delight both children and adults. ( )

Animal Planet and Time Inc. Books have produced a fantastic atlas of animals for readers six and up.

There are not only illustrated maps of every continent, but also maps and explanations of global biomes, "the world's major communities, classified according to the predominant vegetation and characterized by adaptations of organisms to that particular environment” according to the textbook Biology by N. A. Campbell, 1996. Biomes include deserts grasslands, and rainforests, for example.

To illustrate what kinds of animals live in the different biomes, this atlas includes full-color photographs of more than 200 animals, along with fun facts about them. A Nile crocodile, for example, can weigh up to 500 pounds. There are fewer than 400 saaima ringed seals left in the world, and they all live in southern Finland, but there are more than 8 million puffins in Iceland. Andean condors have a wingspan of more than 10 feet! The world’s largest rodent is a capybara, which is a favorite at zoos, with many of their admirers not realizing these large pig-like animals are rodents.

The book includes a glossary and index at the back.

There are also occasional text boxes from R.O.A.R. (Reach Out. Act. Respond) - Animal Planet’s project to help make the world a better place for animals. These “ROAR” sidebars mention conservation and rescue efforts relevant to the animals and/or biomes being featured.

You can learn more about ROAR here, and there is a downloadable curriculum guide here.

Evaluation: This overview of a fascinating topic is sure to inspire kids to seek out further information. The books from Animal Planet (as well as their television series) prove that learning can be fun. ( )

This comprehensive atlas covers each of the seven continents as well as the oceans and the animals and species that inhabit them. The book begins with introducing your child to the various biomes in each of the areas. A world map is featured next with animals placed in their homelands.

Each continent is singled out, first showing the type of land (biome) that makes up the continent. The pages follow with amazing photos, some filling the whole page, of all the animals featured. I guarantee there will be animals that you have never heard of before. The European Souslik reminds me of a prairie dog. Who knew there is a Dung Beetle that helps take care of all the dung across the African desert. The Plumed Basilisk can run across the water or slow down and swim. I was also surprised to learn that the Antarctic Midge is the only insect that is native to Antarctica and is a fly that can't....fly.

These are just a few of the many fascinating things to learn in this book. Children will be enthralled by the photos of all the different animals and will enjoy the unique facts about each one.

The only drawback to the book is the size of it. It is quite a large and heavy book, measuring 11 1/2 by 13 inches. It wouldn't fit on most bookshelves unless turned on its side. Younger children would have to lay the book on the floor to look at the pages as it would be too heavy for them to hold. But, these bigger pages do make the photos pop and they are quite amazing. If your child has to do a report on an animal this coming school year, this book would make a great starting point for finding a unique animal to learn about. ( )

The Animal Planet Animal Atlas is filled with gorgeous color photographs of animals on every continent. My four year old loves to sit and just look through the book at all the pictures.

I love how the book is organized - by continent and then biome. This allows children to see which animals live together in the same regions and how animals adapt to different living conditions. It also demonstrates the "food web" (a more accurate term than "food chain") very concretely.

The information given about each animal is short but interesting. My seven year old loved learning how many of certain animals are left in the wild and what is being done to help those animals. This is a great way to find out what animals children would like to learn more about and then find other resources to go more indepth. ( )

I'm generally wary of oversize books but this is a really delightful and unique look at biomes that kids will pore over for a long time.

From the beginning, it is explained that this is not your average atlas. Instead of dividing the continents into countries, they are separated into biomes. The introduction also explains the different types of biomes, the travel guides (animals from each continent) and the special information sections - "Surprisingly human" which talks about how animal behavior and "Roar" which addresses ecological concerns.

Asia includes the most variety; rainforest, alpine, desert, grasslands, temperate forest, taiga, and tundra. Each oversized spread talks about unique elements of the biome and features a selection of animals from the area. The continent's chapter ends with a full spread profiling a well-known animal that symbolizes the entire continent, a Sumatran tiger for Asia. Familiar and strange animals are included; African biomes cover dung beetles, lizards, gorillas, and features the Nile crocodile. Europe acknowledges that many people don't think of it as an area for wildlife, but shows that there are still areas with a lot of wildlife, as well as those that have adapted to living with people. Its featured animal is an Old World swallowtail. North America has the most familiar animals, but depending on where readers live they will find something new; especially in the tropical rainforest of Central America. North America's featured animal is a bald eagle. South America is fascinating; it's easy to forget this area is more than rainforest and the book covers the desert, alpine, and grasslands as well and features an anaconda. Of course Australia is always interesting, and, not surprisingly, features a kangaroo. Antarctica has a short section, leaving space for one last biome - marine - which covers both major oceans.

There is a glossary, index, and photo credits included. Meshon's fun cartoons add interest to the photographs and information included and may inspire readers to create their own biome maps. The over-sized book is 16x14 inches but only 96 pages so while it's large, it's not massive.

Verdict: A great addition to your animal section, whether kids gather round it in the library or haul it home. Recommended.

ISBN: 9781618931658; Published May 2016 by Animal Planet; Review copy provided by the publisher