Horn Book (Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2013)

Before a huge crowd, fierce animals compete for the title of World's Most Dangerous. Ultimately, the underdog, a mosquito, is declared the winner because it carries disease worldwide. The human judges counter some animals' threatening claims but randomly quake at others, and the seaside locale is arbitrary. Illustrations emphasizing jaws, claws, etc., are synthetic-looking. Concluding activity pages are more informative than the story.

Kirkus Reviews

A talent show of dangerous animals misses the mark in so many ways. Parading before a panel of quaking human judges, a paltry 10 contestants for the titular trophy flash fangs, teeth or other weapons. They do so in closely cropped painted portraits that--except for the slavering, charging Cape buffalo--fail to deliver any sense of menace, motion or even size. The animals' own statements are equally unimpressive, ranging from the saltwater crocodile's obscure, "When a person or animal comes by, I explode from the water and drown him," to the great white shark's unconvincing "I have 3,000 teeth that bite really hard." The "winner" turns out to be the mosquito, which (a judge awkwardly explains) "because of its blood-sucking spreads the most sickness and death in the entire animal kingdom." Neither the main text nor the enrichment quizzes and other material at the back and online elaborate on this baldly stated claim. Children are in no danger of encountering detailed information about animal offenses and defenses, or even a thrill or two, from this quick wash of generalities. (map) (Informational picture book. 6-8)

School Library Journal (Sun Jul 01 00:00:00 CDT 2012)

PreS-Gr 2 A contest to determine the most dangerous creature is the premise of Fields's book, complete with nervous judges and a cast of animals best avoided. They reside on land, in the sea, and in the air, and each offers one or more facts to prove its fearsomeness. From box jelly to venomous snake, toothsome shark to stealthy crocodile, even the clownish porcupine fish and oversize cassowary audition for the prize. Being responsible for the most sickness and death earns the ubiquitous mosquito the trophy. While the facts are sparse and the text simplistic, the photo-realistic illustrations show the animal in its habitat and in a close-up, aggressive pose. With a blend of traditional painting and digital media, Jacques's half- or full-spread images are satisfying for their detail and drama. Featuring many of the same animals, Steven Jenkins's Never Smile at a Monkey (Houghton Harcourt, 2009), with his signature paper-collage images and alliterative text, is distinctive bookmaking offering a more scientific overview, poetic cadence, and specific warnings. In Fields's book, the animals are personified, stating their own case and thereby causing the judges to cower and tremble. Much smaller images and text on four additional pages offer learning activities with additional interactive quizzes and teaching activities to become available via the publisher's website. With animals a perennial favorite and a cover featuring the gaping mouths of a shark, snake, and crocodile, this contest is likely to lure the most reluctant readers. Janet S. Thompson, Chicago Public Library