Deadly Adorable Animals by Nadia Higgins is an informational book full of the cutest animals you can think of and their not so nice traits. This book breaks down twelve different animals who we typical associate with cute and cuddly and present harshly put facts to remind us of they are wild. The illustrations and captions add another level of information that helps associate the facts presented.
I was a little shocked and overwhelmed by this book. I am a very animal orientated individual so a lot of the facts presented I am aware of but the way the author presents it is rather blunt and shocking. I think this book would be best for middle school aged children due to the fact it could be interrupted as scary and deter children from wanting to learn about these incredible animals. I am overall not sure I am fond of this book.
I personally don’t think I would include this book in my classroom due to how the information is presented. If I were required to I think it would be a good tool to teach children about the different animals and how even through society tries to domesticate them frequently they are wild and need to remain there. This book of course could be a decent part of an animal study in a science class of a creative writing assignment over a day in the life of one of these animals.

This is a new series called "Shock Zone, Deadly and Dangerous" and it definitely aims for the wacky/scary facts audience. Each spread features an adorable animal on the left and its deadly skills on the right with lots of eye-popping freaky facts.

The reader will learn about cute dolphins...and their serial killer behavior. Sweet little kittens...and the deadly diseases they spread. Some of the animals, like puffer fish and poison dart frogs, are ones kids will probably expect. Others, like giant otters and swans, are a bit different.

There are lots of eye-catching photographs and splashy colored graphics. Reluctant readers will scoop this one up, as will most kids who like facts, especially scary or gross ones. There are additional websites and books to peruse and a brief index.

Verdict: This is one of those books that kids will gobble up, but is it worth it? It's a very short title - only 36 pages. It's definitely not worth $20 for a library bound volume, but a paperback might easily vanish on the shelf. I will probably buy this and a few others from the series in paperback, but I think they'd make better summer reading prizes or browsing collection books.

ISBN: 9781467705981; Published March 2013 by Lerner; Egalley provided by the publisher through Netgalley; Added to the library's wishlist [updated - bought the library edition for super cheap at ALA Midwinter!]