Mighty Scared
Learn about the wild, wacky and downright disgusting ways some animals react out of fear.
Are you afraid of the dark? Of getting lost? Or of something you saw in a movie? Maybe someone laughed at you for being scared or called you a chicken. That’s okay! In fact, it’s how humans stay safe in scary situations.
While people might run or scream, animals have amazing ways of protecting themselves when they’re afraid. Fulmar birds vomit, Texas horned lizards shoot blood from their eyes and hagfish slime their enemies. Full of incredible and sometimes gross animal facts, Mighty Scared explores how mammals, insects, fish and birds around the world respond when scary predators are near.
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Reviews for Mighty Scared
- ★“Enthralling…Empowers readers to understand their own human coping mechanisms, while colorful, detailed images soaked in softly muted earth tones build a base of strong general knowledge. The challenge for readers young and old will be to see who says ‘ew’ first! A thoroughly engaging, fact-filled book with audacious and memorable animal responses to predators. A must-have for every library.”
– School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW - ★ “Gr 1-3–It’s nearly impossible to think clearly when danger lurks and fear sets in—but life in the animal world often doesn’t leave a moment to pause. In this enthralling text, Silver provides readers with entertaining facts along with additional sidebar prompts that bring everyone into the dialogue. Front and center are the (sometimes gross and icky) survival traits that act as protection for certain animals when they’re face-to-face with a predator. The reality of feeling scared can be yucky—but who doesn’t love an opossum whose theatric abilities win best actor for playing dead while emitting an odiferous stink, or learning of the pygmy sperm whale who “pppffts” blobs of ink to repel enemies? A glossary accompanied by a supplemental resource section empowers readers to understand their own human coping mechanisms, while colorful, detailed images soaked in softly muted earth tones build a base of strong general knowledge. The challenge for readers young and old will be to see who says “ew” first! VERDICT A thoroughly engaging, fact-filled book with audacious and memorable animal responses to predators. A must-have for every library.”
– Lyn Smith, School Library Journal, STARRED REVIEW - “With peppy prose and colorful, detailed illustrations, this slim volume introduces a surprising range of self-protective traits and behaviors from across the animal kingdom. An opening notes that animals, like kids, get scared, and they, too, have distinct reactions to being afraid. Subsequent spreads show sundry creatures and their distinctive defenses, from the literally repellant (fulmar birds spew odorous vomit at potential threats; Texas horned lizards spray blood from their eyes to deter predators) to the more innocuous, such as flying squirrels soaring through treetops to escape. Throughout, more squirm-inducing descriptions (the assassin bug, for instance, “stabs its prey and sucks out its insides”) are somewhat tempered by lightly cartoonish visuals. “Get to Know Me” sidebars interview the featured creatures, and their replies intersperse additional info with comical commentary, like the opossum, playing dead, that asserts, “I should win an Oscar.” An endnote aims to connect the animal defenses featured to kids’ responses to feeling frightened, with suggestions for calming fears, like taking deep breaths. The lively approach and unusual focus set this animal book apart.
– Shelle Rosenfeld - “A juicy topic [that] goes for gusto.”
– Kirkus Reviews - “Though most readers would not want to encounter any of the animals highlighted in Mighty Scared… they will be both fascinated and repulsed by the rather disgusting survival techniques mentioned, all part of the book’s appeal! Recommended.”
– CM: Canadian Review of Materials - “With peppy prose and colourful, detailed illustrations, this slim value introduces a surprising range of self-protective traits and behaviors from across the animal kingdom…An endnote aims to connect the animal defences featured to kids’ responses to feeling frightened, with suggestions for calming fears, like taking deep breaths. The lively approach and unusual focus set this animal book apart.”
– Booklist