It seems as if all the news about animals is about how many are going extinct every day. The purpose of this book, however, is to introduce readers to species that scientists are just beginning to identify.

In Strange New Species readers are given a crash course on what a species is and what kinds of life they’ll read about in the rest of the book. Then the author swings through the rainforest, plumbs the oceans, and visits more familiar places to uncover new species. Along the way, different scientists are highlighted. Numerous photos bring the book to, uh, life. The result is a wonderful tribute to life itself — dynamic and unpredictable.

The book’s colourful cover made it look like an interesting read. It was a very interesting topic. Whenever I think about the book, I want to read it over and over again.

My favourite part of the book was called “Gone But Not Forgotten” because it talks about extinct creatures. (They were usually big and mean, like dinosaurs.)

I also learned a few things, such as information about the extinct moas and the Tasmanian tigers. I did have fun reading the book mostly because it was on one of my favourite subjects. I thought it was pretty ironic that some scientists disliked, at first, some of the life forms they ended up studying.

I wouldn’t change a thing about the book because it was awesome just the way it is. After reading it, I thought the book was one of the best books there is. Out of a score of 10, I give the book a 9. In just one word, I would say Strange New Species is AWESOME!

(Originally published in the March/April 2006 issue of YES Mag.)