Based on their #1 kids podcast, Wow in the World, hosts Mindy Thomas and Guy Raz take readers on a hilarious, fact-filled, and highly illustrated journey through the animal kingdom!

Feathers, fins, fur, feet—the animal kingdom is made up of nearly 9 million known species! From flying fish to flightless birds, each living creature has a unique role to play in the life of planet Earth. In this book, Mindy Thomas and Guy Raz, hosts of the mega-popular kids’ podcast Wow in the World, will take you on a fact-filled adventure to explore the funniest and most fascinating animals known to humankind.

Sections Include:
Build your own insect!
Play hide and seek, chameleon-style!
Look for six signs you might be a fish!
And much, much more!

Featuring hilarious illustrations and filled with facts, jokes, photos, and quizzes, this book is a call to the wild kids of the world. Join us as we venture onto land and into the sky and sea to discover the WOW of Earth’s creatures, both big and small.

Pre-order on Amazon

My Review

I chose to read this book after receiving a free e-copy from Netgalley. All opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased.

What a great book for kids! It’s like reading a comic book while learning about animals. Not only is it filled with information, but it’s funny and engaging. It also has a helpful glossary at the end.

There was a lot in here that I didn’t know. For example, did you know that 10 years ago biologists estimated that there are over 8.7 million species of animals on Earth, and we have only identified about 1.2 million species? That one tidbit alone would be a good topic for discussion.

This is my favorite type of book for children: it is fun and engaging all while they’re learning.

About the Authors

Mindy Thomas is the host of NPR’s Wow In The World, a podcast and new way for families to connect, look up, and discover the wonders in the world around them. Every episode, she and Guy Raz guide curious kids and their grown-ups away from their screens and on a journey through a combination of careful scientific research and fun.

Thomas is also the Gracie Award-winning host of the inimitable Absolutely Mindy Show. She can be heard weekday mornings on Sirius XM’s Kid’s Place Live Channel, of which Mindy served as Program Director for ten years. Mindy is known as an expert and advocate for children’s literature and independent family music. She’s proven that kid’s programming can be smart, interesting, and compelling for both children and adults without sacrificing an ounce of silliness. She talks to imaginary friends (her listeners), sends kids on incredible imaginary adventures by flushing them down her “Portal Potty,” and has the super ability to keep children and adults laughing together on their morning commutes. She has hosted live events for Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Children’s Miracle Network, and Life is Good and conducted thousands of interviews with everyone from The Muppets to Julie Andrews.

When she’s not living out her childhood dreams “playing radio,” she’s exploring the world with her husband and two curious and creative kids. She loves the outdoors, especially kayaking, hiking, and backpacking. She started an adventure club for moms called The Action Adventure Girls Club and she’s even jumped out of a plane on a skydiving adventure! She has no plans of ever growing up.

Guy Raz is an independent producer who has been described by the New York Times as “one of the most popular podcasters in history.”

Raz is the founder and CEO of Built-It Productions and the creator, host and the creative force behind How I Built This and Wisdom from the Top. He’s also the former host and co-creator of TED Radio Hour.

He’s also the creator/host of Wow in the World (from his children’s media company Tinkercast) and The Rewind on Spotify, a program about music.

Together, his programs are heard by nearly 19 million listeners a month.

In 2017, Raz became the first person in the history of podcasting to have three shows in the top 20 on the Apple Podcast charts.

He’s been a regular guest on the Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and is a two-time New York Times bestselling author. His books include How I Built This and Wow in the World: The How and Wow of the Human Body (co-authored with Mindy Thomas.)

Previously, Raz was weekend host of NPR News’ signature afternoon newsmagazine All Things Considered. During his tenure (2009-2012), he transformed the sound and format of the program, introducing the now-signature “cover story” and creating the popular “Three-Minute Fiction” writing contest.

Raz started his career as an intern on All Things Considered with NPR in 1997. He would go on to work as a production assistant, studio director all the way to foreign correspondent and breaking news host.

His first job in journalism was as assistant to the legendary news reporter Daniel Schorr.

In 2000, at the age of 25, Raz was made NPR’s Berlin bureau chief where he covered Eastern Europe and the Balkans. During his six years abroad, Raz covered everything from wars and conflict zones to sports and entertainment. He reported from more than 40 countries including the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Macedonia, and the ongoing conflict in Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Raz also served as NPR’s bureau chief in London, and between 2004-2006 as CNN’s Jerusalem correspondent. During this time, Raz chronicled everything from the rise of Hamas as a political power to the incapacitation of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Israel’s 2005 withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. In 2006, Raz returned to NPR to serve as defense correspondent where he covered the Pentagon and the US military.

For his reporting from Iraq, Raz was awarded both the Edward R. Murrow Award and the Daniel Schorr Journalism prize. His reporting has contributed to two duPont awards and one Peabody awarded to NPR. He’s been a finalist for the Livingston Award four times. He’s won the National Headliner Award and an NABJ award, in addition to many others. In 2008, he spent a year as a Nieman journalism fellow at Harvard University where he studied classical history.

As a host and correspondent, Raz has interviewed and profiled more than 10,000 people including Bill Gates, Condoleezza Rice, Jimmy Carter, Shimon Peres, General David Petraeus, Al Gore, Mark Zuckerberg, Eminem, Taylor Swift and many, many others.

Raz has anchored live coverage on some of the biggest stories in recent years, including the killing of Osama bin Laden, the Newtown School Shootings and the 2012 presidential election.

He has also served as a Ferris professor of journalism at Princeton University, a Shapiro fellow at George Washington University and an adjunct professor of journalism at Georgetown.