Review: The Secret Lives of Animals by Stacy Tornio and Ken Keffer + Giveaway

The Secret Lives of Animals

Stacy Tornio and Ken Keffer

Children's Nonfiction

Falcon Guides

October 1, 2015

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The Secret Lives of Animals is the perfect mix of field guide know-how and armchair entertainment. In addition to the standard field guide notes and range maps, the meat of the book will offer up “spark moments” in nature—something fascinating or memorable that catches your attention and sets you on a path of lifelong learning. The Secret Lives of Animals will feature more than 100 North American animals and over 1,000 tidbits in a fun, colorful, illustrated format.

Review: I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review

The Secret Lives of Animals is a fun reference guide with lots of great facts and nice illustrations. I loved that it concentrated on North American animals. It encourages kids to head outside and look around nature to see what they can spot.

Each animal, bird, sea creature and insect is presented with an illustration and interesting facts in an easy to read and understand format. Some feature "Science Q and A" and others have a "Go Outside" box that explains how to find the creature in the wild. I thoroughly enjoyed the "little-known facts" presented on each animal, and I'm sure children will enjoy this feature as well.

The sections are well-organized, featuring invertebrates up to large mammals. There is also an index in the back to make finding a particular animal a snap. I liked the section in the back, "Animals by State and Province", with a quick breakdown of where to find each animal.

Any book that encourages children to head outside for some fresh air is aces in my book. This is a great book for fun and for school projects.

About the Authors

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Stacy Tornio is an Oklahoma girl at heart, though she’s lived in Wisconsin for the last 10 years. As editor of Birds & Blooms Magazine, Stacy is able to share her love of backyard nature. Her first book, Cathy’s Animal Garden, takes readers on a picture journey into the neighbor’s scary backyard in search of a homerun baseball. Project Garden, her recent book, is a monthly guide filled with activities to keep the whole family gardening all year long. Along with her husband, Steve, Stacy enjoys watching her two children explore nature in their Milwaukee backyard and on trips up north.

Ken Keffer was born and raised in Wyoming.  A vagabond naturalist, he’s done a little bit of everything, from monitoring mice and vole populations and picking up carnivore scat in Grand Teton National Park to researching flying squirrels in the Tongass National Forest of southeast Alaska, and monitoring Bactrian camels in Mongolia’s Great Gobi Strictly Protected Area. He’s also worked as an environmental educator in Wyoming, northern New Mexico, coastal Maryland, and along the shores of Lake Erie in Ohio. Ken enjoys birding, floating on lazy rivers, and fly fishing in the mountains out west.

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