LSSL 5360: Module 4 -- Nonfiction & Biography


Biggest, Strongest, Fastest
By Steve Jenkins



1)    BIBLIOGRAPHY
Jenkins, S. (2009). Biggest, strongest, fastest. New York: Houghton Mifflin.


2)    PLOT SUMMARY
Biggest, Strongest, Fastest is a nonfiction book that features fourteen record holder animals from all over the world for various strengths.  The African elephant is the biggest land animal, whereas the ant is the strongest animal for its size.  The tallest animal is a giraffe, the blue what is the biggest animal, the Estruscan shrew is the smallest animal, and the bee hummingbird is the smallest bird.  The world’s longest animal is the sun jellyfish, the largest spider is the bird spider, the cheetah can run the fastest, and the electric eel gives the strongest shock.  The land snail is one of the slowest animals, the anaconda is the biggest snake, the flea is the world’s best jumper, and the Galapagos tortoise lives the longest.  Each animal has a unique trait that qualifies it to be a world record holder!


3)    CRITICAL ANALYSIS
Biggest, Strongest, Fastest is a book that can be enjoyed by all ages, and will hook the reader with its vivid images of the record holders and facts that make them stand out.  The book showcases fourteen record holder animals from all over the world for various strengths that make them special.  Jenkins is straight to the point and simply describes each animal in one sentence.  At the back of the book, he does include a chart that specifies each animal, their record, size, diet, and range.  Jenkins is a great book to introduce students to incredible animals, and from his book they can discover similar books that might focus on classification or type of animals.  The book delivers quite a bit of information in concise words, and makes comparisons that allow readers to visualize how tall, big, or slow the animal would be.  The illustrations can span from two to three pages in order to emphasize the size of the animals.  Colors used in the illustrations are inviting to the reader, and are more of a dramatic effect, rather than using actual photographs of the animals.  This is a beautiful to book to incorporate into both the math and science curriculum, and would be great to introduce students to a research project over an animal.


4)    REVIEW EXCERPT(S)

Horn Book’s Review: “One of his earliest, Biggest, Strongest, Fastest, introduces “records” held in the animal kingdom. Fun to read aloud, the book asks the audience to guess each record holder before showing them the picture.”  (Reviewed 5/2009)

5)    CONNECTIONS
o   This is a great book to incorporate with math and science. 
o   You could use the chart at the back of the book to have students look at the information and perform calculations in regards to the animal.
o   You could introduce students to a research topic about animals with this book, and challenge them to make an animal list of their own.
o   Other similar stories:
v Jenkins, Steve.  DOWN, DOWN, DOWN:  A JOURNEY TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA  ISBN 9780618966363
v Jenkins, Steve.  JUST A SECOND  ISBN 9780618708963
v Jenkins, Steve.  CREATURE FEATURES:  TWENTY-FIVE ANIMALS EXPLAIN WY THEY LOOK THE WAY THEY DO  ISBN 9780544233515

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