Do you know Komodo dragons?

Lists of animal facts are no doubt appealing to young readers, but the Do You Know? series ups the ante by pairing each fact with an over-the-top illustration featuring anthropomorphized creatures in jokey, comic book-style panels. There are some astounding facts in Do You Know Komodo Dragons? Example: Komodo dragons can reproduce by parthenogenesis, a rarity among vertebrates. Since many of the animals featured are predators, a lot of the illustrations depict creatures' somewhat grisly eating (or being eaten), and while they're only cartoonishly gory, they might be upsetting to more sensitive readers. A lack of source notes or further reading suggestions is a drawback. That said, there's certainly an audience for the gruesome realities of predatory animals, and this vehicle fits the bill, particularly for reluctant readers.--Hunter, Sarah Copyright 2014 Booklist

Spatters of blood and other body fluids serve as the chief attraction for this cursory look at our largest living lizard. Printed in squint-worthy type, most of the handful of casually phrased facts and factoids chucked in at the bottom of each spread relate to eating habits: Komodo dragons are "fast and swift," they "shred apart large prey," and they most commonly die from cannibalism. Budding naturalists will also learn that Komodo dragons vomit when they need to make a quick exit, and they shake their victims hard enough to spray the surrounding landscape with voided dung or even inner organs. Sampar illustrates all of this behavior in loving, gory (thoroughly gory) detailthough in his cartoons, which take up the lion's share of each spread, the Komodos stand on hind legs, dress in human clothes, and deliver wisecracks or remarks ("You couldn't have done that in the garage, dear?") placed in speech bubbles. A similarly anthropomorphized cast chows down through like-titled introductions to dinosaurs, hyenas and praying mantises. Not much intellectual nourishment on offer, but a refreshing change of menu when the diet of conventional "true books" palls. Maybe not the best choice for pre-lunchtime reading, though. (Graphic nonfiction. 8-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.