Actual Size

Rating:
Summary: She's actual size, but she seems much bigger to me
Review: Just this past week I did a welcome-to-the-library introductory class for roughly fifteen hepped-up first graders. This was the first time I'd done such a class, so I was a little nervous about how to reach 'em. The last thing I wanted was to bomb in front of them. I needed a picture book that would really capture their attention. That would make them sit up and take notice. That would let them believe that the library is a cool and happening place full of wonderful fascinating books. So to what book did I turn in my moment of trial? Why to Steve Jenkins' fabulous, "Actual Size", of course. This has suddenly become my sure-fire go-to book. No child that encounters this puppy walks away without falling deeply in love with it. All that and it's chock full of useful scientific facts too.

The premise of "Actual Size" is canny. Using his customary illustration techniques of utilizing cut and torn paper, author/illustrator Steve Jenkins has created a book full of different kinds of animals. But unlike your average book that, say, summarizes the wingspan of the atlas moth, each illustration in this story is actual size. Which is to say, if the pygmy shrew is only two inches long, then the illustration of that shrew in this book will also be two inches long. This makes for some highly original displays. There's no way you could fit the entire giant squid into the book's pages. Therefore, one two-page spread is devoted entirely to the giant squid's eye (12 inches across and freaky freaky freaky). Other pages display an anteater's two-foot-long tongue (twisted about to fit in the necessary illustration). We get an up close and personal view of the four-inch jagged teeth of the great white shark. There are even huge insects (like the giant walking stick) and slimy critters (the monumentally disgusting 36-inch long Gippsland earthworm). Every page contains some brief facts and statistics about the creature being displayed, followed up by more in-depth material at the back of the book.

Needless to say, kids can't get enough of "Actual Size". The best reactions you can get are when you have the kids compare their tiny hands with the gigantic mit of the gorilla. When I showed my engrossed class this illustration they went gaga, clamoring to reach out and "touch" the great primate's palm. Children also get wrapped up in some of the book's lesser known facts. I took a great deal of delight in informing my captive audience that the Goliath frog eats birds and rats. And, of course, some of their reactions were surprising. When I showed the anteater page, hoping to wow them with the idea of a tongue that's two-feet-long, they were instead thrilled that the picture showed termites. Go figure.

If you're at all familiar with Jenkins' Caldecott honor winning, "What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?" then you know what to expect from him. Highly original cut paper pictures. We're not talking namby-pamby Eric Carle "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" type stuff. We're talking breathtaking how-do-you-convey-that-picture-with-cut-paper type images here. This book has a life entirely of its own. As with all Jenkins' creations, I was pleased to see bright and colorful pictures (the Siberian tiger, for example) next to pictures that required the smallest of details (like the pygmy mouse lemur). Best of all, Jenkins is constantly switching about the perspective in this book. One moment you're looking at an animal at a sideways angle, and the next minute you're facing down a tiger, head on (and the tiger doesn't seem to be particularly pleased with the interaction).

As you may have figured out, my welcome-to-the-library presentation was a smash hit, in no small part due to this wonderful book. I have high hopes that it may garner itself a heaping helpful of awards in the future. If you want an educational but highly amusing all at the same time picture book, "Actual Size" is a must-have. It's beautiful, smartly written, and a joy to thumb through. Few children can escape its charms.

Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: Steve Jenkins' Actual Size can be enjoyed as a work of art. The animals or, if a large animal, part of an animal is illustrated using handmade paper collage. What may sound like just a clever concept, when skillfully executed, resulted in an awesome book. Some of the animals shown are the pigmy shrew, atlas moth, dwarf goby, Goliath frog, and giant squid. The dimensions of the animal is noted and as well as a paragraph about such things as habitat and diet which makes this a very interesting book. Karen Woodworth-Roman, Children's Science Book Review

Rating:
Summary: Possibly the coolest book ever
Review: This book has artwork depicting the actual size of abnormally large and abnormally small animals. You get to get up close and personal with a 3/4-inch fish and the 12 inch eye of the giant squid (which can grow up to 50+ feet long!!) and everything in the book is depicted actual size. We used this book for a storytime and the young kids LOVED comparing their hands against the critters in the book. Best of all, one of my co-workers literally jumped about six feet from a seated position just from glancing at the picture of the 12-inch in diameter spider. The book is worth just that alone!! Highly recommended for kids to understand the scale of nature.