This book introduces the amazing abilities of various nocturnal animals with sharpened senses of smell, sight, and hearing, and also encourages readers to try out their own senses in the night. The illustrations are colorful and interesting, and each chapter gives practical advice about walking safely in the dark, how to find and observe nocturnal animals, and how to enhance your own 5 senses as you explore.
Each chapter focuses on one of the senses, showcasing an animal with a strong sense of sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste, and even awareness of the earth’s magnetic field. I loved the focus on the science behind each of the senses, showing how the rods and cones in an owl’s eyes are different from a human’s eyes, explaining that frog’s have a great sense of hearing because their entire body is like one big ear, and demonstrating the difference between the nose of a deer and the smaller nose of a human. There are clear diagrams and pictures that illustrate the science and biology of each animal’s senses, and explain how that helps the animal to survive in the wild.

I love how the book is written almost like a story, describing the animals in their natural habitats, and revealing how they hunt, mate, and care for their young. There is a lot of information crowded into every page, but it is still fun and interesting to read, without feeling like a textbook.

I would recommend this book to readers ages 6-14. It would be so fun to read this as a family, and then take your kids out into the backyard to observe the night and listen for frog songs and try to hunt around as quietly as a fox. There are bunches of activities and night-time games included in the book that would be amusing for kids of any age.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.