I was given a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Fun non-fiction book that reveals fun facts about all kinds of weird animals. Middle grade readers will love it and it will keep them engaged for hours. #netgalley #matthewmurrie #stevemurrie #TheScreamingHairyArmadilloand76OtherAnimalswithWeirdWildNames

*Thank you NetGalley and publisher for an eARC in exchange for an honest review*

This was such a fun book to read, very reminiscent of the "ugly animals" books. Wacky, unusual animal books are always fun to read about, and this book doesn't disappoint. These tend to be a favorite informational read amongst my students. I really liked how there was a good amount of information about how and why animals get named.

This book is both amusing and informative. Definitely a must have for any classroom!

lol! This was a cool book! Kids (and adults) are going to enjoy learning about these little oddities. We've all heard of lions, tigers, and bears, where were these critters: Sparkle muffin peacock spiders, Bone eating Snot Flower Worm, and others, hiding all these years?! I want to see these critters in a zoo! Fun book for the science section.

Wacky, weird, odd, unusual animal books are always fun, and this book doesn't disappoint. The gimmick here is animals with unusual names, such as my state's (California) insect, the dogface butterfly. Each creature gets a spread with information about them along with drawings and/or photos, and an explanation of how it got its name. Some names are merely descriptive, like the the smooth-headed blobfish; some are more tongue-in-cheek, like the agra cadabra, a type of beetle that doesn't do anything magical, the scientist who named it just was having fun. There's all kinds of fun, interesting information to learn here, and this is sure to be a hit with nature and animal minded kids.

#TheScreamingHairyArmadilloand76OtherAnimalswithWildWackyNames #NetGalley

I've seen a number of different ways that authors have gone about grouping animals for a book: ugly animals, gross animals, extremes of all kinds. This may be the first I've seen that arranges them just by name. Obviously, the focus is on creatures with amusing names. But it's more than just curiosities. We learn some basics about the animals, of course. There's also a fair amount of information about how animals get named. We learn about historic misunderstandings and name based puns. Both amusing and informative. A book that can be enjoyed a little at a time or all at once.

It’s science, it’s animals and these guys are just weird. Sound like a book kids will enjoy? I’m sure of it! This is a parade of creatures notable for their bizarre, baffling, and just-plain-funny names. The book has bright vivid illustrations and actual photographs. But not all are photographed because some of the animals reside 2,000 to 4,000 feet deep in the water off the coast of Australia.

A very colorful book, but I read the book on a kindle and had great difficulty reading white print on a lime green background or blue on bright red. This may not be an issue with the hard copy.

Learn of the Waxy Monkey Tree Frog, who lives high in the forests of South America. The “waxy” refers to its skin secretions and the “monkey” comes from its long, simian fingers, perfect for climbing. Then meet the White-Bellied Go-Away Bird... look it up to hear it’s cry. Ok you may have to incorporate your imagination for this guy’s cry. You’ll love the Fried Egg Jellyfish, and the Bone-Eating Snot Flower Worm and the Chicken Turtle who is actually a turtle that does not taste like chicken!

But I beg to differ with the Ugly Animal Preservation Society who claim the The Smooth Headed Blobfish is the ugliest animal. I think he’s cute and love able. I was surprised that the wombat poops out square scat. Square? That’s some kind of talent.

There are over 70 creatures divided into four Name sections: Funny, Magical, Delicious, and then names that are Just Plain Weird. While the text is certainly engaging, I feel many readers will tire of the wordiness. It’s one of those books you pick up read awhile ,put it down and pick it up again and again. A coffee table kind of book and a whole lot of fun!
A library must have.

As an animal lover, I was immediately drawn to this colorful, wacky book about, well, colorful, wacky animals and their unusual names. Filled to the brim with an abundant variety of animals–including those with names dubbed funny, magical, fierce, delicious (sounding), and just-plain-weird-the Murries have created a fun guide for different ages. For younger readers and pre-readers, photos and illustrations offer some cool basics about each animal. Older readers (7-10 and up) will be able to use this as a learning tool as well: extensive front matter delves into the nuts and bolts of taxonomy versus common names; bold and bright animal listings feature accessible specifics, plus layered text and sidebars; and back matter provides an entertaining way to learn even more. While I would have liked to see more photos and fewer line drawings throughout, this is still a great addition to any child’s nonfiction library.

I received an ARC of this title through the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

An introduction to taxonomy, binomial nomenclature, and common names followed by examples from around the world of animals with unusual scientific or common names.

Hand this to curious kids, especially those fascinated by animals. It felt a little long to read all in one sitting, but could easily be read over five days a chapter at a time. The book uses a combination of real photos and illustrations of the animals being talked about, and the text is engaging. The beginning of this could definitely be used in any life science classes studying taxonomy. It did a very good intro to the topic, better than most middle school textbooks. It also highlights several animals that may have never appeared in a book for kids or anyone other than scientists before.

I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Great Gift For Animal Loving and Science Minded Children
I enjoyed this book which is my first criteria for choosing to buy any children's book. I loved the photographs, and illustrations and how the authors effectively used them. Besides keeping the child entertained visually, they help to make some points more clear and should help the child retain the information presented. I do wish that they would have had photographs for each animal, but the color drawings did work well. The text is also not boring which is so essential when teaching a 'dry' subject such as Biology. Initially, I thought that some of the text was talking to very young readers. The ideas given for things to do can bring this book out of the 'read for fun' category and take it to a school or learning category. My opinion changed as I went further into the book. My only real negative was the choices of color pairing for font and background made some of it unreadable to my eyes. I received this ARC book for free from Net Galley and this is my honest review.

Sophie’s first book this month is one she read some time ago. The Screaming Hairy Armadillo and 76 Other Animals with Weird, Wild Names is a middle-grade non-fiction book that looks at dozens of creatures from around the world with pictures, habitat information, fascinating facts, and information about how they got their unusual names.

The creatures are divided up into five sections depending on their names. First, there are “Funny Names” like the Striped Pyjama Squid, Monkeyface Prickleback, and (one of Sophie’s all-time favorite animals after learning about it on an episode of QI years ago) the Sarcastic Fringehead. Section two is for “Magical Names” like the Unicornfish, Goblin Shark, and Pink Fairy Armadillo. Section three gives us animals with “Fierce Names” like the Vampire Squid, Twice-Stabbed Stink Bug, and the delightful sounding Bone-Eating Snot Flower Worm, which reside here along with the titular Screaming Hairy Armadillo. Section four is reserved for “Delicious Names” including the Fried Egg Jellyfish, Cookiecutter Shark, and the Chocolate Dip Damselfish.

The fifth and final section is for “Just-Plain-Weird Names” and includes such fantastic names as the Birdbeak Dogfish, White Bellied Go-Away Bird, and the Tasseled Wobbegong. (Sophie gives you one guess what continent that last one comes from!) All the creatures included in the book get at least one full-page (most get two or three) filled with easy-to-read information and plenty of brightly-colored photos and illustrations to break it all up, and there are plenty of extra bits of interesting info and bonus animals scattered throughout the book as well.

Sophie’s ten-year-old reluctant reader read this one from cover-to-cover, frequently coming over to tell her (through tears of laughter) about whatever bizarre animal he’d just read about. Sophie recommends this as a great book to read together because parents will almost certainly learn something new along with their kids, and you’ll all be laughing together too.

The Screaming Hairy Armadillo is a fun illustrated book of weird animal names (and facts). Due out 15th Sept 2020 from Workman Publishing, it's 176 pages and will be available in paperback and ebook formats.

This is a bestiary with a collection of animals whose common names are out of the ordinary. The authors have arranged them roughly thematically: funny names, magical names, fierce names, delicious (food related) names, and just-plain-weird names. All of the animals included have a 2 page spread with the common (funny) name, the proper taxonomic (Latin) name, habitat and range, special characteristics, and a description with lots of interesting info. Each of the entries also contains a color picture and lots of rendered drawings. The book is full of colorful graphics and sidebars with easily digested information.

The book will certainly appeal to all ages, but is ostensibly aimed at younger readers aged approximately 7-10 years old. The authors have included a useful abbreviated glossary as well as a links list for further reading and conservation information.

Well written, engaging, and factually accurate, this would make a superlative selection for school or classroom library, home library, or gift for a young reader who likes all sorts of exotic animals. This book would have attracted 7 year old me in an instant.

Five stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

What a great book! I had no idea animals had such weird names. The art is a combination of hand-drawn, realistic images and photographs and it works perfectly with the text. I already have several middle-grades readers in mind who will absolutely love this. It's on my shortlist for new juvenile nonfiction.

The Screaming Hairy Armadillo and 76 Other Animals with Wild, Wacky Names, by Steve and Mathew Murrie, starts off strong with a chapter explaining how animals are named by the scientific community and the use of common names. I was a little disappointed by the format of the remainder of the book as not all animals had photographs, and although the illustrations included were beautiful, the focus of the book is on the “Wacky” names which are usually derived from the animals appearance. I can see lots of children picking up this book because of the cool title, but not spending much time reading the content.

I received a temporary e-ARC copy of this book from NetGalley and Workman Publishing Company in exchange for an honest review.

I really wanted to like this title but was disappointed with it. If you're going to have a book that mentions intriguing sounding animals then have a photo of each animal. The wordy text and the combination of scattered photos and remaining illustrations will not be engaging enough to hold the intended audiences attention. Sadly, a missed opportunity in an area where books are plentiful and stand-outs are few.

This is a great book to hand to any animal lover or kids who love to laugh while they learn. The format is great and I love (as will my students) that there are actual photos throughout. Hand to students who enjoy Cute as an Axolotl, Pink is for Blobfish, and any of Steve Jenkins books.

3.5- Super neat animals! There are sketches/drawings of each animal and often a picture, but I wish there had been a photo of each animal included. The text is conversational in tone and easy to read. I like the layout of the book: a page of text about the animal, lots of bright colors, and a small box that tells the species, where the animal is from, and a fun fact. The book has animals sorted into chapters based on appearance or name, and the end of the book features runners-up who didn't quite make the main part of the book. Lots of great science vocab in here too (and a great glossary). The last part of the book includes how to discover and name an organism, a wild/wacky name generator, the glossary, and a note about conservation and further reading. A great resource for any life science classroom!

Thanks Netgalley for the ARC! All opinions are my own.

This is a lovely book. It's nicely presented and features lots of animals that are not well known, so children will enjoy finding out about them and learning lots of new information. This will be a great addition to the resources we use for our Rainforest topic.

Thank you NetGalley and Workman Publishing Company for sharing this information eARC with me in exchange for an honest review.

I was immediately drawn to the colorful cover and hilarious title! My students love to read Weird But True books, so I figured I needed to read this to see if this could be another nonfiction book they would enjoy.

I really liked the colorful pages and illustrations combined with pictures. I also liked that it was organized by types of names and that each animal had a very short and concise description, but was entertaining to read as well.

I definitely think this book will be a popular one in my class.

The Screaming Hairy Armadillo and 76 Other Animals with Wild, Wacky Names, written by Matthew Murrie and Steve Murrie, and illustrated by Julie Benbassat, is currently scheduled for release on June 9 2020. It is a a science-based illustrated celebration of creatures notable for their bizarre, baffling, and just-plain-funny names. Meet the Waxy Monkey Tree Frog, who lives high in the forests of South America—the “waxy” refers to its skin secretions and the “monkey” comes from its long, simian fingers, perfect for climbing. The White-Bellied Go-Away Bird—guess what its cry sounds like? Plus the Fried Egg Jellyfish, the Sparklemuffin Peacock Spider, the Bone-Eating Snot Flower Worm, and many more. While the names of these species are undeniably curious, the heart of the book is their just-as-curious habits, appearance, abilities—and the stories of how they acquired their unusual monikers. There are over 70 creatures in all, with full-color illustrations and photographs and detailed text.

The Screaming Hairy Armadillo and 76 Other Animals with Wild, Wacky Names was a really interesting read. I have always been a fan of learning about the weird and wacky of the world, so some of the animals described (like the naked mole rat and blobfish) were not new to me. However, most of the creatures were at least partially unknown to me- and frankly man of their names could double as awesome band names. The artwork was simply amazing. The images were very well done, with great detail, and added significantly to the book as a whole. The text was well written, and while some of the terminology was advanced definitions and explanations were woven perfectly into the text. I like that there was also a glossary at the end of the book, along with some resources for further reading and information on conservation. I also liked the use of text boxes and small commentary on almost every page. I found the balance of science and humor kept the reader's attention and interest which in turn keeps them reading. My daughter just might be getting this book for her next birthday.

The Screaming Hairy Armadillo and 76 Other Animals with Wild, Wacky Names is a fun and informative read that I think will be a favorite for middle grade and older readers.

Catchy title, brightly colored cover and interior illustrations and odd looking animals with equally bizarre names, but the intended audience for this book is unclear to me. The text is lengthy and geared to reading levels much higher than those who would be drawn to the cover. Those readers looking for the depth of information contained in the text would likely prefer more realistic-looking photographs and drawings. Reader at my 4th and 5th grade libraries would probably check it out, but few would do more than flip through the pages and the junior high students I used to teach would walk right by the juvenile-looking cover.