A new series of colorful and lighthearted books that compares opposites in the weird and wonderful animal kingdom.

Children are often intrigued by extremes in the world around them and how they compare to each other -- the biggest and the smallest, the fastest and the slowest, the smartest and the silliest. These books describe and illustrate animals' characteristics and compare them to animals with exactly the opposite characteristics. Young readers will learn fascinating facts about dozens of creatures from around the world while having some serious fun.

All of the books include practical notes for parents and teachers about learning activities and games.

Fastest and Slowest is alive with action photographs of the world's fastest animals . . . and the slowest. It's well known that, when it comes to speed, the cheetah rules the African plains. But lesser known is that, size for size, a human would have to run 2,500 miles per hour to keep up with the tiny golden-rumped elephant shrew Other record-breakers include the bootlace worm, which at 180 feet is the longest of its kind, and the potoo bird, which mimics tree branches and spends its days perched in a tree and not moving -- at all -- until after dark. Now that's slow.