On the cover, Creaturepedia proclaims, “WELCOME TO THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH,” and it more than lives up to this. This is 216 pages of animal bliss featuring creatures big and small, creatures that you have heard of and some that you have not, creatures that are living today and sadly some that are no longer around.

Organised not into species, Creaturepedia organises creatures in a way that is far more useful and understandable to young children. Creatures are organised by the traits and characteristics that make them stand out. Some categories are more recognisable than others. ‘The Endangered’ section will immediately have readers thinking of pandas and orang-utans, and ‘The Vanished’ will conjure up thoughts of mammoths and dinosaurs. More unusual categories include The Show-Offs, The Bounders, The Munch-It-Uppers and The Brain Boxes.

Categories are organised in alphabetical order and there is an illustrated double page contents which lists all the various categories and the page numbers on which they can be found. There is also an index if you want to quickly find a certain creature.

The book is gorgeous to look at. Each creature is carefully illustrated and vibrant colours bring the creatures and pages to life. Each illustration is unique and they are full of warmth, charm and humour. Each creature has its name written in bold next to its illustration and short interesting facts and figures are included in many instances. The attention to detail is superb - the endangered creatures all have a tear in their eye and it’s very hard not to shed a tear as you look into the eyes of these sad creatures whose very existence is under threat.

Sometimes you read a book and you just know that it will be one that you will go back to time and time again, this is one of those books. Everything about it is beautiful. The pages are thick and it comes with its own fancy ribbon page marker too.

A book to delight readers who have any interest in the animals of this world. Creaturepedia will provide endless hours of enjoyment and readers will be going back to read this time and time and time again.

Recommended for 5+.