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Reviews
Beastly Puzzles: A Brain-Boggling Animal Guessing Game by Byron Eggenschwiler, Rachel Poliquin
annetjeberg's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun puzzle book! Some animals were very easy to guess, and others weren't. I did not like the illustrations much, but the girls said nothing about that. Some hints were a bit out there, but overall we learned quite a bit about animals we did not really know much about (lobster, anyone?).
anneke_b's review against another edition
4.0
This was a fun puzzle book! Some animals were very easy to guess, and others weren't. I did not like the illustrations much, but the girls said nothing about that. Some hints were a bit out there, but overall we learned quite a bit about animals we did not really know much about (lobster, anyone?).
agudenburr's review against another edition
2.0
The combinations were super weird! It is almost like my brother wrote this book in middle school.
peyton_'s review against another edition
3.0
This book is a fun guessing game. It shows different items and you have to guess what the animal is. I just did the puzzles and tried to guess the animals; I did not read all the facts. I did pretty good, but definitely did not get them all. Some of the items confused me, even after reading how they connected to the animal. A fun little book.
mimela78's review against another edition
5.0
What animal could you make.... is how each page starts. The author provides a hint and an illustration with seemingly random objects to help you identify the animal. Once you make you guess you can discover the animal by lifting the page. Each of the objects used to describe the animal is explained as well as a fun fact provided about each animal on the identification page. A glossary is included. This book engages your problem-solving skills and helps to stimulate creative thinking.
tashrow's review
5.0
So many guessing game books about animals are for very young children, but this one will challenge those in elementary school as well. Taking cues from historical descriptions of animals that were based on known animal elements, this book is devilishly difficult even with the extra hint provided. One might expect the animals to be unusual, but they are well-known animals like ostriches, polar bears, frogs, and kangaroos! Open the gate fold and discover how that animal can be described as made from all sorts of bits and pieces.
Poliquin’s description of each animal in terms of their elements is profoundly and delightfully confusing. A kangaroo for example is described as made up of enormous feet, an extra leg (for going slow), boxing gloves, rabbit ears, a peanut, a secret compartment, and a springboard! A large part of the joy of the book is being entirely befuddled by the clues and then learning how they all fit together. It’s not frustrating at all to be confused, but part of the fun.
The art has a great vintage vibe to it that suits the old-fashioned descriptions of the animals. It is modernized by the use of bright colors and a vibrant image of each of the animals on the reveal page. Cleverly designed with gate folds that add to the suspense too.
Fun and frustrating at the same time, much to everyone’s delight. Appropriate for ages 5-8.
Poliquin’s description of each animal in terms of their elements is profoundly and delightfully confusing. A kangaroo for example is described as made up of enormous feet, an extra leg (for going slow), boxing gloves, rabbit ears, a peanut, a secret compartment, and a springboard! A large part of the joy of the book is being entirely befuddled by the clues and then learning how they all fit together. It’s not frustrating at all to be confused, but part of the fun.
The art has a great vintage vibe to it that suits the old-fashioned descriptions of the animals. It is modernized by the use of bright colors and a vibrant image of each of the animals on the reveal page. Cleverly designed with gate folds that add to the suspense too.
Fun and frustrating at the same time, much to everyone’s delight. Appropriate for ages 5-8.
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