Book review: 'Scanorama: Deadly Predators' can entertain and teach all ages

Sometimes, before I'm able to review a book, my kids take it and I can't find it for several days (sometimes weeks, oops). So when I finally find the volume (it's usually hidden under one of their beds for safe keeping) I put it on our coffee table with orders for the kids to not take it from our front room under any circumstance.

Sometimes they remember those orders, sometimes they don't.

Last week my parents came to visit. I guess the conversation my mom and I were having wasn't entertaining enough for my dad because he picked up, "Scanorama: Deadly Predators" and started flipping through it.

Image from Silver Dolphin Books

Then he stopped flipping and actually started reading it. Soon, my nine-year-old son joined my sixty-something-year-old dad and they talked for a long time about all the deadly animals portrayed in the book. And, wouldn't you know it, but my dad thought the x-ray scanner was pretty cool. In fact, he kept trying to figure out how the makers of these books engineered the entire thing.

 "Scanorama: Deadly Animals" is all about, well, deadly animals. This book talks about the top five deadliest snakes, reptiles, lizards, sharks, and a bunch of other creatures that no one should ever want to cross. While my girls have enjoyed this book, it's by far grabbed the eye of just about every male that's entered my house. I don't know what it is about boys and danger, but reading about deadly animals is something every y-chromosomed individual seems to delight in.

Like the other "Scanorama" books, this one has the cool x-ray sliders. It also tells how large the predators are, what they eat, and where they live. If they're endangered, it talks about that as well.

Image from Silver Dolphin Books

This book is a fun one for all ages and gives little details about every animal it highlights. However, if you have a reader who really wants to get in depth about deadly animals, this book is not for them. This book is a good jumping off place for learning more, but it doesn't go into depth. Rather, readers learn just enough interesting facts about these animals that will make them wanting more. So plan a trip to your library soon after getting this book.

"Scanorama: Deadly Predators" is a clean book with nothing offensive in it. Although geared toward elementary and middle-grade readers, even grandpas can enjoy it. Normally $18.99, it's on sale at Amazon.

Author Anna Claybourne lives in the UK and is the author of many non-fiction books.