If your children are anything like my 7 year old son, then they are fascinated by the weirdest of creatures. When we started to look through Strange, Unusual, Gross & Cool Animals recently, Monkey was hooked from the first page.
The title alone, Strange, Unusual, Gross and Cool Animals was enough to tell Monkey that he’d love this book. The 128 page hardback book from the Animal Planet series is a great addition to our reference books and the photography is stunning. The book is aimed at children aged 8 years and over who are confident readers, but my 7 year old has been reading it with some help from me.
In Strange, Unusual, Gross and Cool Animals you’ll find gallery pages which explores a specific environment and shows different animals that share the same habitat.
There are featured animal pages which do as they say, highlighting one specific animal in any given territory, with specific facts and more wonderful photography. We both rather fell for this Thorny Dragon.
There are also creature collection pages which showcase a number of different animals and information on where you might find them across the globe.
The macroview pages are just stunning, and they show tiny details on the smallest of animals. These were fascinating to look at, and both my 7 year old son and I learned things as we’ve been reading this book.
In Strange, Unusual, Gross and Cool Animals you get to meet a range of different animals, not all of them that well known either. It’s a great educational book and we’ve loved looking through it. Neither of us had ever heard of the Nata Nata and it’s incredibly long, flat neck, it’s a very strange turtle indeed. If you happen to visit Madagascar at any time, you might come across one of the thirty-one types of Tenrec which look a little like our beloved hedgehogs. We always look out for the Hornbills when we visit zoos, did you know that the Rhinoceros Hornbill can live up to 90 years?
Monkey is looking forward to wowing his friends with his new knowledge when he sees them after the school holidays for sure. Priced at £14.99 we think Strange, Unusual, Gross and Cool Animals makes a great addition to a bookshelf. I’ve included my Amazon Affiliate link below for your reference. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of books in the Animal Planet series benefits the principal partners of R.O.A.R. (Reach Out. Act. Respond.), Animal Planet’s initiative dedicated to improving the lives of animals in our communities and in the wild.
disclosure: we were sent the item mentioned in exchange for an honest review.
I’ve teamed up with GMC Distribution to offer 3 lucky readers the chance to read this book for themselves. For your chance to win a copy of Strange, Unusual, Gross and Cool Animals complete the Gleam form below. Good luck!
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The strangest animal I’ve ever seen is a frog-fish whilst on a dive. It’s quite and ugly fish and looks like a clump of seaweed.
strangest would be a hoopee which is a bird with a very long curved beak it looks very funny but as evolved to survive
My dad used to have a Axolotl When i was younger.
My nephew has a Leopard gecko as a pet – I fnd it quite strange – don’t know whether to like it or be scared! I like a pet that I can stroke and cuddle and preferably has fur!
Hairy slug
We saw a poison dart frog at the zoo, my son was fascinated by it.
My partner, the long haired, nocturnal pizzavore
A dung beetle in South Africa, a rather large ugly thing that lives in dung, strange choice of house!
We have lots of woodlouse in our garden, the kids have always thought they look strange !!
Found a stripy caterpillar in the garden wit the strangest horns – looked quite scary!
Found a stripy caterpillar in the garden wit the strangest horns – looked quite scary!
An armadillo, sadly it was dead on a road in America but it was interesting to see one!
a baby shark while on holiday
a slow worm in my garden i thought it was a snake!!
I’ve seen a few weird patterned spiders lol x
When we were on holiday we saw a strange looking fish. I’ve no idea what type it was
I saw a caterpillar once that looked like a snake, that was pretty cool 🙂
We had a bearded dragon which I really don’t like he’s yucky
My brother has a couple of Axolotls – they are brilliant but totally weird!
Cockroaches are very strange – they can live without their heads for ages.
A SHINY BLUE LOOKING BEETLE EEEK!
chameleons. fascinating and build so weirdly, eyes… the tongue!
the strangest i have seen is a honey badger.it looks so cute and fuzzy but its actually a total savage!my son gave me a long lengthy talk about them lol
The once I seen a frog with two extra legs I was amazed lol was just putting my bins out
A grasshopper.
We’ve seen some very strange and odd looking fish at our local aquarium, some of them are a bit frightening !
Jellyfish at the beach as I never expected to see them
I once saw a wild armadillo when in Florida
I saw an insect on a Greek island, it looked liked a very large beetle and tiny tiny eyes for its size
We found a Slow worm in the garden once and I didn’t like it all.I know it’s not a snake but it looks like one and I’m not a fan.
Some of the creepies in my garden – don’t know what half of them are -every year there seems to be more and more!
My neighbour used to have a Praying Mantis. It gave me the creeps.
The strangest I’ve ever seen was this weird looking bug that we got around the same time very year in Germany. Still don’t know what it was but used to freak me and the youngest out no end
Leaf insects! I can’t believe how realistic they look
Tasmanian devil – thankfully in the zoo ! It thought it was feeding time but the food was for the dingo next door so he spat all over the glass !
We have amazing sea anemones in and around the rock pools in Cornwall one of which was so big it was the size of a dinner plate and very beautiful
a frog ate a preying mantis next to us during a BBQ in australia
A gecko ran over my foot when I was sunbathing in Jamaica.
A puffin, beautiful but so small
Okapi – they crack me up, like a mish mash of a zebra, an anteater and a giraffe!
Which is the strangest creature you’ve come across and why? . . . bumblebee because according to the laws of aerodynamics it is impossible for them to fly, but they do and so beautifully
Jellyfish on the beach
A huge insect on holiday, never did find out what it was
When I was about 10 me and my friends found a pipistrelle bat, it was a beautiful little thing, with a squished up face
saw lots of unusual fish in Hawaii but the colours were fantastic
A stick insect in Australia. I didn’t realise at first and jumped out of my skin when it moved.
I saw a Maori Wrasse fish when I was snorkelling in Australia
A massive cockroach which was massive and ugly
The glasswing butterfly at our local butterfly sanctuary, fascinating and beautiful.
Some horribly slithery thing – I can’t even describe it, it makes me feel ill!
A huge dragonfly type thing hanging off my washing line it was so big I thought it was a peg, the washing went in the dryer
i dont think i ever really have! we found a HUGE fat caterpillar once, i think it was a giant moth of some sort
A creepy flying bug that came into my room! Black and noisy!
an elephant nose fish is the strangest i have seen
I have a fascination for jellyfish, I remember nearly stepping on a Japanese Man o War as a child that was washed up on a beach
I was sat by the swimming pool at the villa I was staying in at Kissimmee in Florida one evening, and an Armadillo came for a stroll across the fence!
Today on my walk with the dog I found a big red fluffy ball on a wild rose bush which turned out to be the home of the home and nest of a Cynipid gall wasp! I was so impressed I took a photo and put it on my instagram!
Probably a sand wasp though I have seen quite a few strange things
A millipede. Not so much because they’re a strange animal per se, but finding one crawling out from under your bed is a strange and rather scary experience!
There was a Possum who lived on our caravan roof when me and my best friend were working in Australia. He was really cute so we didn’t mind, but it was a nightmare getting any sleep with him running about 😉
Probably a polecat. They’re strange
I think the strangest creature I have ever seen was maybe a dragonfly larvae.
I honestly have not come anything strange enough to mention.
A millipede as they’re a bit strange with the way they walk with all their legs
It would definitely be various humans that I’ve met. It’s true what they say – there’s nowt stranger than folk!
An elephant hawk moth Caterpillar when I was gardening aka hacking through the jungle in or garden! It was the biggest Caterpillar I have ever seen. I placed it in next doors garden under leaves so it could have so peace away from us.
Saw the weirdest looking caterpillar once walking up my house, it was enormous and really colouful and when I went up close, it actually looked at me.
Slugs trying to steal my cat’s food!
A green spider on my washing line, i have never seen a green spider before
We once met a Huntsman spider at a playcentre in Australia!! He was not welcome!!
pribably stick insects. the kids had sone as pets and they really are weird and wonderful
Today we saw a giant African millipede we couldn’t believe how large it was and my two loved seeing it up close!
Women (of course) – I see dozens every day wherever I go, and there’s no understanding a single one of them 😉
A bearded dragon in Florida. Very timid too.
A sloe worm as saw it when it was a kid and scared me
We saw an armadillo run across our garden while in Florida…such a memorable moment because it was my first trip to Florida, and I was so excited to see such an amazing creature out in the wild.
I fins stick insects very strange, they look and feel like a stick or leaf yet they are alive!
My son saw these stick insects that looks like leaves once and they were pretty strange looking! x
Sea urchin. Unusual, different and fascinating when I first saw one as a child.
I saw this green bug on one of our latest walks and it was shaped like a shield, very weird!
I think grasshoppers are the weirdest thing I have seen, in Greece the sheer noise of them is extraordinary!
Some some strange caterpillars in my parents’ garden a few weeks ago, bright orange and black
I think my brother’s tortoise because it tried to bite my foot.
This is a hard question: I love chameleons as they change colour, but also the rural africans in Zimbabwe are terrified of them as they believe they are spirits or something.
My old cat because he loved taking baths!
Probably the numerous caterpillars I see in our garden, some are really unusual colours
A massive moth which entered the house, with a huge body and triangular wings that flew nosily – it was quite creepy
Lungfish (also known as salamanderfish) As not only does it not look like a fish but it can also breath out of water
it was prob a lizard in Cuba. It was very bright blue and green, I’ve never seen anything like it x
The most unusual animal I’ve seen was a bright blue and green lizard because it was so colourful x
It has to be the clown frog fish my son is obsessed with their camouflage skin
An anteater – really curious creature!
Honestly it’s not exciting but a slug i hate those things with all the slime!!
An insanely huge grasshopper type thing while on a safari drive in South Africa!
A Jesus lizard because it can walk on water.
I absolutely love watching chameleons change colour. It fascinates me plus have you seen their babies? They are so teeny tiny and sooo cute x
Boa constrictor in the animal unit at college it was HUGE and even made the Teacher a little nervous when feeding it.
A leucistic (albino) magpie, I didn’t know what it was at first
Probably a large snail just because it was weird to see such a big slow creature
When I first started to keep Malawi tropical fish I had no idea they keep their eggs in their mouth and even the fry for a month or so ! Think that’s really odd lol
a catapiller it was a funny shape
I saw a sea slug on holiday it was really gross
Naked mole-rat – saw a programme on tv about them and how they can live to be really old. They are looking at the genetics of them to see if humans can live longer. They have really stretchy skin too!
The New Zealand weta insect is the scariest and ugliest creature I have ever seen. The name weta means God of Ugly Things. Apart from being ugly, they jump a long way and they hold onto you with their pincers.
Has to be the giant spiders we saw when I was lucky enough to visit Kenya with my parents – They live in the palm trees and just looked crazy hanging in the trees!
Last summer I saw an enormous caterpillar in the garden with what looked like huge eyes on the back of it’s head.
Strangest creature would be my dad, lol
Or I’ve always always wanted an axolotal
The platypus – an egg-laying mammal
I saw a dragonfly type thing on holiday last week, it was like a little helicopter 🙂
A caraway bird when we went to Australia was odd
It was an orange frog, I always thought they were green!
I once caught an eel while fishing when I was younger. That was pretty weird.
an armadillo in USA
A huge hairy moth that fascinated my 3 year old Grandson.
A Calligrapha Beetle that we got to see in the rainforest on a trip to Hawaii
The Gila Monster in Arizona because it is a poisonous lizard and looks a bit like a snake and it is very scary!
A stick insect because of its ability to merge with its surroundings 🙂
Lots of lizards in my hotel room in Jamaica….arrhh
I always think Axolotl’s are strange, cute and strange!
I just asked my fiancé and he kindly said me! Charming lol!
Emma Louise Elliott xxx
a mole rat they look so strange with no hair
dugong, they look so peculiar
My brother used to have stick insects, they are very strange.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen any strange creatures
Parktown Prawn, they are common in South Africa and the most frightening little bug I have ever seen. They really scare me.
I was in the Sudan a few years ago, and we came across a flock of Shoebills which are very large birds. Weirdest looking things I’ve ever seen.
a crocodile… if that counts, was waiting at a bus stop in mexico and saw it in the water next to us! we decided to walk…
A blue caterpillar!
After a recent visit to our local nature centre, I am informed a red panda because they aren’t red & don’t look like a panda !
It has to be the blob fish. It has so many human features it’s hard to believe it lives at the bottom of the ocean.
I used to live in South Africa where there was a lot of strange and peculiar animals and insects, like the Table Mountain Ghost Frog, the Giant Girdled Lizard and the Black Widow Spider!
I think it would be a tarantula. As when I held it, it felt like it had sticky feet, not at all what I was expecting!
An Elephant Hawk Moth. Strange because the colours were just so vibrant that they looked unreal and you don’t expect to see something like that in a suburban garden in Essex. I wish I could attach a photo.
My cat – she is so demanding of attention not laidback like you expect a cat to be.
our pet fish which is a Axolotl (a mexican walking fish)
An Aye Aye had never heard of them before until we went London zoo, strange looking things but weirdly cute.
The strangest was this weekend – a sh-ow which is a sheep that looks like a cow! Pretty scary x
We have had some earwigs appear in our bathroom recently, though they were strange looking.
When I was at school I found a caterpillar like creature but it was really bright colours and 3 times bigger than any I had ever seen before. As we lived a short distance from a banana importers we thought that it might have come from there
silverfish- what is their purpose??
A snake as when I held it I expected it to be slippy but it was soft and dry . A master of deception !
A Tapir. They’re native to Mexico – we had no idea what they were when we saw them walking around our hotel.
Jameitos. They’re a species of blind albino crabs which are only found in Lanzarote. They’re tiny and quite cute!
A camel spider they are huge and jump
A half blue and half purple lizard
Bats in India, it wasn’t the bats that were strange but the behaviour I’d never seen before – they slept all day in the open, all on one tree so it looked like that particular tree was covered in black leaves.
The processional caterpillar thingys….proper scary, can actually kill animals, urgh, stay well away!
A absolutely massive cockroach on our latest holiday …. it should have been called “Linford” (Christie) It was like lightning !!! xx ha ha
A giant anteater at Blackpool Zoo! You think they look strange on TV, in real life they’re even odder – and completely awesome 🙂
We saw some aphids on a tree yesterday being milked by ants, it was fascinating!
A dung beetle rolling a huge ball of dung about ten times its own size. It was amazing to see how one creature had so much determination.
Pachnoda’s which area type of fruit grub. We bought some for our bearded dragons and I sat watching them fascinated for ages, they are vicious little critters though
I dont know what it is called but on holiday a small fluorescent green bug bit my hubby on the foot. I looked like a small piece of balloon rolled up!
i was helping my mum out with her garden last weekend and we found these tiny little beatles that were so shiny like a golden shimmery colour mvery pretty since they were bugs lol