Actual Size

Title: Actual Size
Author: Steve Jenkins
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Company
Date of Publication: 2004
Illustrator:Steve Jenkins
Genre Designation: Children’s Non-Fiction
Readability Lexile: K-2 (ages 5-8)

Summary:
Steven Jenkins presents the reader with a guide to different species and their actual size.  Not only do we find out what their actual size is, but we also find out many interesting real life facts about the animals as well.  The pictures of the animals are drawn to size of what they would like in real life as well.  At the end of the book Jenkins provides the reader with a glossary of animals seen in the book with a full picture as well as a complete overview of the animal. 

Evaluation:
It seems like it may be hard to find interesting non-fiction books for young readers, that still hold their attention while giving them credible information.  I think this book is one of the few books that I have found that does both of those things.  The author/illustrator did a great job of using the illustrations to pull the readers interest in and then tell them about the huge foot that is taking up 2 pages.  As the reader you never knew what was coming next because one page might have the foot of the largest land animal and then the next page might be the worlds heaviest insect, all of which are drawn to size in one way or another.  The main part of the book is not overwhelmed with text and information about all the different species within the book, instead it is one sentence about each picture along with a measurement.  It was just enough to keep the reader interested without getting burnt out by all the information.  The book does not use a lot of literary elements but it is still in my opinion a great information book for a young reader. 

Illustrations:
As previously stated the illustrations are the backbone of this book, without them the reader would be lost.  The reader gets an idea of the species size based on the size of the picture drawn.  The pictures are made in a way were it allows the reader to feel like they are reading a “fun” book, but brings in real life information. 

Mini-Lesson:
The mini-lesson would focus on the use of simile’s.  The students would come up with their own simile using two species mentioned within the book.  The students then can draw a picture to represent their simile.  Break into small groups and share with group.