I’ve been a big fan of Phaidon books for many years. Whether it be its huge art tomes or beautifully constructed children’s books, production values are always put front and center. Books from Phaidon are a pleasure to behold, and so it is with Superpowered Animals.
What Is Superpowered Animals?
Written by Soledad Romero Mariño with sumptuous illustrations by Sonia Pulido, Superpowered Animals “celebrates the remarkable qualities” found in the animal kingdom and “presents some of the world’s most unique and bizarre creatures.”
In this large-format hardback, you’ll find 22 creatures across 56 pages, taking in 19 superpowers. Creatures include the octopus (as found on the book’s striking cover), the narwhal, and the exploding ant. Superpowers covered include sight, mimicry, teamwork, and super regeneration. Sadly, there’s no invisibility, but, then again, how would we know if there were invisible creatures among us?
Each superpower has been given an icon which then appears in the frame around each piece of creature artwork. This gives the book a nice coherent feel.
Every animal is given a double-page spread and each one is given a number of stars depending on how many of the 19 superpowers it has. There is a brief color-coded explanation for each animal of how each superpower manifests, as well as a table of more mundane facts (such as size, lifespan, and where it lives). Each entry also contains an environmental fact that explains how the animal is important to its local ecosystem.
Why Read Superpowered Animals?
This is a gorgeous book for children around 6 upwards. Younger readers will need help reading the information entries, but they will be taken with the artwork, and the superpower icons make each entry engaging, even if you can’t read the associated text. They add a great visual guide to which animal has the most superpowers—the sort of important fact that all inquisitive young minds want to know.
If you want to find out about the amazing weightlifting dung beetle, a vampire bat’s sonar, or what it is about a cheetah’s legs that makes them so speedy, then this is the book for you. And that’s just the very tip of the polar bear’s iceberg. The polar bear, incidentally, has a whopping 7 superpowers!
This book is perfect for any young nature lovers, especially if they have a love of superheroes too. Suddenly the reasons for the existence of Batman and Spider-Man are clear, not to mention Killer Croc and Ant-Man. I guess, arguably, these reasons are self-evident, but, nevertheless, it’s great for younger readers to discover the real-life superpowers of the creatures that inspired their favorite heroes.
All in all, I’m very impressed with Superpowered Animals. It’s informative and beautiful in equal measure, and I highly recommend it.
If you would like to pick up a copy of Superpowered Animals, you can do so here in the US and here in the UK. (Affiliate Links)
If you enjoyed this review, check out my other book reviews.
I received a copy of this book in order to write this review.
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