Giants Land, Sea & Air

by David Peters

A superbly illustrated book of the biggest animals, both living and extinct. They are all drawn to scale, as are the humans included in each picture to show proportion. Creatures too big to be contained on double-page spreads are given expansive fold-out pages. . . . An excellent book, recommended for all small humans who like big beasts.--School Library Journal, starred review. Full-color illustrations.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0394878051
• ISBN13: 9780394878058
• Release Date: October 1986
• Publisher: Random House Children's Books
• Length: 73 Pages
• Weight: 1.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 9.6" x 13.2"
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

Author Had a Fall From Grace, Copy Sent Was Likely Found in a Bog

A lot of people in the scientific community really don’t like this author! There are a lot of articles about it, look into it. Apparently, they’re upset with the way he depicted some prehistoric animals in his other work; it sounds like he had a pretty epic fall from grace in the scientific community. But, this book was a childhood favorite, I was happy to find it. The copy I received was listed as in “Good” condition (that’s all that was available) but it had pages torn in half, huge chunks torn out of pages, there was a big stab hole going through the entire cover and most of the way through the book, and it was so incredibly grimey! I needed disinfectant and five paper towels to clean it off. Was it found at the bottom of a bog?! Customer service was great about it, but it was definitely not in “good” condition by any stretch of the imagination. Not even acceptable condition, really, but this is the first time this has happened to me with this site.

Please put out a new edition for the sake of our children

This book has been checked out from the library at least 10 times before we found a copy of our own. We also have another David Peters favorite in "Strange Creatures", and can't wait to get a copy of our own. I only wish that someone would put out a new edition of the books, so we could get them new. With the scale pictures, and the wonderful drawings, it keeps our 8 year old reading for hours (and it has since she was 5). If you get a chance to get your hands on one, grab it.

Amazing book!!!!

This incredible book first caught my eye in the school library when I was in 4th grade; this same book is now found fascinating by my children ages 6 and 7. The illustrations are beautiful and the text is written in a way that even a young reader would understand. I find it really saddening that the book is out of print, because I would really like to replace the well-worn copy that I have handed down to my kids. Trust me, this is a book that you can certainly pass down for future generations to enjoy (no exageration)!!!!

All People Should Own This Book!

This is a book that transcends generational barriers and age barriers in language and content. I got this book when I was eight and the way Peters fluidly coalesced extinct and extant creatures into one book influenced my entire outlook on life! I still refer to the book in university now that I'm an ecology major.

An excellent book on ancient life forms

This book, although texted for the 10-15 yer old reader, is excellent enough to be enjoyed by readers of all ages. It briefly examines all manner of large creatures, both extinct and living, and by full-color, scaled drawings, with a man and and woman for visualization, shows how truly huge such things as apatosaurs and blue whales really could be. One of the interesting features is that each and every creature is drawn in the same scale, so such things as triceratops and modern rhinos, and mammoths and elephants and tyrannosaurs, may be compared. You will receive some surprises. I recommend this book to all readers.

Giants of Land, Sea & Air: Past & Present

Our seven year old son LOVES this book. He is learning about ocean animals and the book gives the sizes of animals in full detail. The drawings are great. We really love it when our son says, 'I love the GIANT book. It makes me want to read. I know how big whales and sharks are now.' Peters holds a child's interest with this exellent child's reference book.