Cute and witty but really lacking in most other aspects. The illustrations are what really do this book justice, most everythibg else is just common knowledge with a few helpful facts.

Look Big offers advice on animal encounters of all kinds. Whether you encounter a bear or a beetle, the advice in this book is helpful.

The book has a sort of tongue-in-cheek tone to it. The author has a good sense of humor and writes from the perspective of a sort of urban soccer mom type who doesn’t get outdoors a lot, but wants to know what to do if she happens to run across a bear. Or a tarantula, or a cockroach or…

At first glance, it seems to be a ‘not so serious’ look at the subject, but the author did a lot of research and interviewed many wildlife professionals to glean the advice offered here. Each section is short and treats one kind of critter encounter. So, you learn what to do with things like insects, reptiles, sharks, birds, mammals, and more. This information has not been available in a single book before. There are books on what to do when encountering certain large carnivores, but none that treat the subject as a whole. It’s quite a nice and complete collection. If you are in the middle of an animal encounter, and it’s safe to do so, you can turn to that page in the book and find out the best way to handle it. Obviously, if you are fighting off an attacking animal, that won’t work, so you have to read the book before you go out into the wilderness. It would make a good book to carry along on your next car camping trip with the family.

There are some other helpful things in the book, like remedies for stings, recipes for repellents, and more. There are some great anecdotes told by other authors too. These are really entertaining! Each animal section has a “what to do” part full of good advice. The “also known as” names are sometimes laugh-out-loud funny.

As a wildlife biologist, I did find some data I thought were not accurate though. In the mountain lion “By the Numbers” section, it says that mountain lions are responsible for killing one human per year in the U.S. That statistic is not accurate. There have been fewer documented attacks on humans by mountain lions than by domestic dogs. Your chances of being attacked by a mountain lion are about as remote as your chance of winning the lottery, or about the same as your chance of being struck by lightning. Mountain lions are extremely elusive. They avoid humans if at all possible.

The one thing I did find objectionable in the book was also in the mountain lion section. There is an illustration showing two female joggers trying to scare off a mountain lion. In the drawing, the lion is perched on a rock above the two joggers. They have their arms up in an attempt to scare the cat. In the background can be seen the Hollywood sign. There is a famous image of a mountain lion taken by remote camera at night with the Hollywood sign behind it. That mountain lion is P-22, the only known mountain lion to inhabit Griffith Park in Los Angeles. In effect, this image in the book implicates P-22 in essentially terrorizing joggers. This has not happened. P-22 is living quite well in hiding in a territory surrounded by urban sprawl. He is rarely seen, except by trail cameras set out by biologists. I have a friend who regularly goes there in search of this cat’s tracks, but the animal himself has not been spotted. In my opinion, the inclusion of this particular image in the book is a mistake. It implicates one particular animal in an activity that, to my knowledge, has never happened. Yes, P-22 did take an animal from the zoo there, but that is normal predatory behavior. P-22 has not been known to show any aggression toward humans, and has not menaced any joggers that I know of. This image would be more appropriate if the Hollywood sign were removed from the background. That would make it a neutral image about just any mountain lion, rather than a very specific, and very famous cat. That this animal has been able to survive in a very difficult environment is a testament to this species’ ability to live alongside humans without us even knowing that they are present. Given the sadly violent response from first responders that often occurs when humans run into mountain lions in urban areas, I feel that it is best not to implicate a particular animal. Too often the response is shoot first, ask questions later. Too many mountain lions are shot out of our fear and misunderstanding of this animal. I hope that the publishers consider removing or editing this image to get rid of the Hollywood sign for that reason.

I recommend this book for campers or any other outdoor people. But, also make sure to do some of your own research. Learn the species that will be in the area where you plan to go camping or hiking. The more knowledge you have, the less fear of the unknown. This book will help with that.

In short: Respect the wildlife, don’t be stupid, keep a clean house & yard, and don’t take a damn selfie with your back turned to any animal. And if you have your trash cans and dog food outside, don’t be surprised when some critter comes to visit–guarantee it.

Animals are just as smart as, if not smarter in many cases, humans. And as we encroach upon their habitats (they were there first), they’re adapting and getting used to us. So we’d better get used to them and learn to live with them (and appreciate them) as much as they’ve learned to live with us.

Sadly, I have a feeling that many people who could actually learn a thing or five from this book (and be properly shocked by the info) would never pick up this book.

But for those who do pick this up, it provides sporadic tips on how to deal with critters of all types, from ticks to moose, from fruit flies to whales. Depending on the critter, tips range from how to deal with or get rid of them to how to defend yourself if you ever come face to face with one. I liked how it spanned all regions and all types of animals, making at least a few of the tips useful for anyone. This would be a fun gift book for anyone who loves to travel, since it covers such a wide range of animals.

The illustrations were very lovely, and they would make some awesome posters!

The brief “aka” bits consisted of nicknames for animals, but also included different species and/or names for different ages/sexes of animals (e.g. bull, cow, calf). Which are all true, but it would have been nice to point out the differences between these. And some of the information can be a bit confusing, in terms of how it’s presented. In a few of the sections, how to deal with the animal (e.g. defending yourself from one if you encounter it) seems to be brushed aside or relegated to smaller textboxes. That’s the information I want front and center, with the amusing anecdotes and other fun info later. I also wasn’t a fan of the anecdotal short essays; they didn’t add anything to the info, nor did they really prove any points.

While this book was too brief and unscientific for me, I can still see it appealing to lots of people in a variety of markets.

Thank you Netgalley for this book. It surprised me. The book discusses what to properly do when confronted by a wild animal....BUT WAIT! Not just bears and moose, and not just animals. It even gets into creepy crawlies like bed bugs. The book presents some great home remedies for more common household pests. While those sections make you squirm a bit, and laugh a little (or a lot), the book does get serious when it comes to wild animal encounters. Keeping your distance seems like the best approach when it comes to wild animals, but the book also covers those unlikely encounters when you come face to face with mountain lion.

The book is filled with wonderful illustrations, and side stories from other contributors.

Look Big is a compilation of advice given by experts on how to avoid confrontation and harm when faced with certain wild animals.

WHO WOULD ENJOY READING IT?
Anyone that comes in regular contact with wildlife in urban areas would get a lot out of this.

WHAT I LOVE ABOUT IT
Lots of commonsense advice. There are also quotes from experts as well as regular people who had survived encounters with dangerous animals. The book is full of illustrations which adds to the intrigue.

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Look Big: And Other Tips for Surviving Animal Encounters of All Kinds by Rachel Levin is available to buy from on all major online bookstores. Many thanks to Ten Speed Press for review copy.

Look Big is a must read for all of us living in a world where we are constantly surrounded by animals inside and outside of our home. It provides great information in what to do when we come across many different animals such as; deer, coyotes, bears, dogs, ants and even bats. Rachel manages to provide educational material with this book along side keeping it light and interesting with real life stories of other writers experiences too.
After reading this book I enjoyed learning that even deer can charge if provoked, and if you ever come across a moose while driving just to wait as it can charge you and your car but patience is the answer.

As Americans continue to move from suburbs into rural areas, and vacationers hike into more remote areas of parks, confrontations with wild animals have become increasingly common. What to do when you run up on a mountain lion or grizzly bear is the topic of Look Big by Rachel Levin, a practical, but humorous guide to wildlife survival. Each short chapter presents some basic information about each species and then offers suggestions as to how to avoid an attack.
While each animal is different, there are some basic rules of thumb. First, don’t run. Running can trigger a predatory instinct and cause an animal to charge you. Second, try to intimidate the animal by producing noise and making yourself look larger than you are (hence the title). The most important general rule for avoiding an animal assault is do not feed wild animals. Feeding them inevitably leads to a lack of fear of humans and increasing aggressiveness.
Along with species that can kill or maim, Levin includes chapters on the merely annoying , like bed bugs and ants. Insect pests turn out to be among the most difficult to eradicate. Short essays by other writers detailing their personal encounters with wild beasts are included with most chapters. Bonnie Tsui’s account of a cockroach infestation in her New York apartment is both horrifying and hilarious.
One of the most enjoyable aspects of Look Big are the oddball facts sprinkled throughout the chapters. Cows turn out to be far more dangerous than sharks. Bovines kill an average of 20 Americans a year compared to one or two for sharks. The deadliest, large animal in North American is not the grizzly or cougar but white-tailed deer. Bambi’s cohorts are responsible for about 200 human deaths per year, mainly due to collisions with cars.
And malaria-spreading mosquitoes kill far more people than any other animal. Approximately one million per year.
Written in a breezy, cheerful style and with cartoon-like illustrations by Swedish artist, Jeff Ostberg, Look Big can be enjoyed even by those whose idea of roughing it is staying in a hotel room with no microwave.