Common Sense Media Review
By Lucinda Dyer
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Visually stunning look at how animals perceive the world.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
AN IMMENSE WORLD has 12 lavishly illustrated chapters. "Leaking Sacks of Chemicals" looks at how animals smell. Snakes smell with their forked tongues, and seabirds like the albatross use their sense of smell to locate food in the ocean. "Endless Ways of Seeing" reveals that spiders have four pairs of eyes and starfish have eyes on the tips of their five arms. Cows can see in front, in back, behind, and beside themselves all at once. "Purple, Grurple, Yurple" explores how animals perceive color. The family dog will see the world around it in shades of blue, yellow, and gray. "So Cool" is all about heat (a blindfolded rattlesnake sitting on your head can sense the warmth of a mouse sitting on your finger), and "All Ears" is all about sound. Crickets have ears on their knees, and it's possible the calls of fin whales can travel underwater for 13,000 miles. Other chapters look at electric and magnetic fields and explore the science behind surface vibrations. The concluding chapter, "Save the Quiet, Preserve the Dark," calls readers' attention to how our use of bright lights and loud sounds is threatening the sense-scapes of animals.
Is It Any Good?
Presented through brilliantly colored illustrations, adventurous scientists, and startling facts, the science in this young readers edition never talks down to kids. An Immense World could be challenging for readers who aren't already passionate about animals and science, but the author has done a great job of breaking up the text with brief bits of information ("A Very Bunchy Crocodile" or "Burglar-Alarm Eyes") and a series of fun and highly accessible "Ed's Field Notes" pieces about a particular scientist or scientists working on everything from red-eyed tree frogs in Costa Rica to common hermit crabs in Ireland. A visually gorgeous and fact-filled wonder.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the most surprising "can that possibly be true?" fact they learned while reading An Immense World. Why did you find this so amazing?
If you were devising an experiment to learn more about a particular animal's sense of smell, hearing, or sight, what would it be?
Has reading this book changed the way you look at the world when you're outdoors? Are you more curious about animal senses now? How can you learn more?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Rebecca Mills
- Genre : Science
- Topics : Animals ( Ocean Creatures , Wild Animals ) , STEM
- Character Strengths : Curiosity
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Bright Matter Books
- Publication date : May 13, 2025
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 10 - 15
- Number of pages : 272
- Available on : Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Award : Common Sense Selection
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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