Informational Books: Biggest, Strongest, Fastest by Steve Jenkins

Jenkins, Steve. 1995. Biggest, Strongest, Fastest. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. ISBN 9780547255576

Summary

Biggest, Strongest, Fastest is a nonfiction text that illustrates and explains superlatives in our world, the biggest, strongest, and fastest creatures. From blue whales to Etruscan shrews, cheetahs to land snails, this book give the curious mind some insight into fourteen creatures that can be found in our world.

Analysis

After visiting his website (www.stevejenkinsbooks.com), a reader can understand Steve Jenkins’ love for science. As kin of a physics professor and astronomer, Jenkins grew up loving science. While the book does not have bibliographic data, the reader can see that accuracy was key in creating this book. Jenkins displays his credibility through the straight forward text and the realistic illustrations.

Jenkins organizes his text based on the various records the animals hold. He devotes two pages to almost every creature included. The animals are not listed in any particular order. Each page begins with the name of the animal, followed by the record held.  A more specific fact associated with the record is included, as well as a small illustration that displays the animal’s size in relation to a human or a hand, making it easy for the reader to grasp the creature’s actual size. An appendix referencing each animal’s record, size, diet, and range is included in the back of the book.  

Jenkins’ illustrations are a cut-paper collage, created to be as realistic as possible.  These appealing images grasp the reader from the start and aid in understanding what each animal is like.  The illustration of the bird spider is so remarkable that the reader could almost feel the softness of the sinister legs.

According to his website, Jenkins’ inspiration for the book was his son’s inquisitiveness over which animals were the biggest, strongest, and fastest. The curiosity led to the development of this child-friendly, nonfiction concept book. The reader is given exactly what they need to understand the records held and is not overwhelmed with information about the animal. The book exquisitely conveys Jenkins’ passion for both art and science.  

Personal Response

Biggest, Strongest, Fastest is a great nonfiction piece. I found the facts and illustrations both fascinating and informative. Since it does not overwhelm the reader with facts upon facts, it would make a great piece for an introductory lesson on nonfiction text, enticing more informational book readers.

Reviews

“From the streaking cheetah on the cover to the tiny Etruscan shrew sitting on a teaspoon, readers see the animal and learn salient facts plus a few more delicious tidbits. Cleverly done and sure to appeal to both the littlest and biggest of readers.” –Marilyn Courtot, Children’s Literature

“Here's proof that power isn't just about size and that science can be a lot of fun.” -Booklist

Connection

After reading Biggest, Strongest, Fastest, students can research an animal of their choice and write and illustrate one interesting fact about the animal. Each student can contribute their animal and illustration into a class book.

Steve Jenkins' books would lend themselves well to an author study. With over 30 published books regarding science, students are able to learn many new interesting facts and see Jenkins’ noteworthy illustrations across many topics.