According to their website, “TIME For Kids is a classroom magazine that aims to engage students while presenting them with high-quality nonfiction writing to build reading and critical thinking skills.” They have expanded into book publishing with the same goals, offering a number of selections that have a science focus like Zoo 3D.
Stereographer David E. Klutho took photos at zoos all across the United States and created some very good 3D images of animals in their habitats. Kids should enjoy finding things like the Giant Anteater, the File-Eared Tree Frog, and the Sailfin Lizard about to come out of the book. I even found myself briefly startled when turning a page and thinking my hand had almost brushed up against the Chilean Rose Tarantula.
The book is broken down into chapters by classification. "Mammals" make up over half the book followed by "Birds," "Insects and Arachnids," "Amphibians," and "Reptiles." There is also a brief bit at the end that presents "Who's Who at the Zoo" showing people who work there like zoo keepers and a veterinarian.
Writer Curtis Slepian provides the text that offers information about the creatures, offering explanations of matters such as why flamingos often stand on one leg in cold water (to keep heat from leaving “its body through its feet”), what the difference is between alligators and crocodiles (“gators have shorter, broader snouts”), and why a group of rhinoceroses is called a crash (because they “crash their way through the grasslands of Africa). Each entry comes with a description of the animal and also frequent bits of extra trivia about them, asking readers “Did You Know?”
The book concludes with four pages of images created through a process called “digitally anaglyphic vertically inclined display.” that presents even greater dimensionality when the page is viewed at a 45 degree angle.
There are two pairs of 3D glasses, which should limit the number of arguments over who gets to look at the book. They are housed inside the front cover in small envelopes that could tear easily if in a rush to get the glasses out.
Zoo 3D is an entertaining and informative book that should appeal to animal lovers of all ages.
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