Reviewed by Emily-Jane Hills Orford for Readers' Favorite

How many types of cats do you know or would you recognize? I’m not talking about domestic cats or even the ferals that roam rural neighborhoods where someone abandoned them and left them to fend for themselves. I’m talking about the truly wild cats: the lion, cheetah, lynx, leopard and so many others. Did you know that a cheetah can run up to 75 miles an hour? In other words, as fast as a fast-moving car? And, did you know that the spots on a leopard’s coat are shaped like a rose? There’s even a snow leopard that lives high in the mountains. It’s often called the ‘ghost of the mountain' because its coat is so white.

There are considerably more interesting trivia tidbits to discover. Chandrakant Bhonsle’s picture book, The Extraordinary World of Cats, is a good place to start. Cleverly constructed in rhyming verse, these lyrical snippets are both engaging and informative, almost like an ode in honor of these wild creatures. Young readers will love the trivia shared about each ‘cat.’ The illustrations are dynamic and colorful and add an interesting dimension to the overall presentation. Each wild cat is introduced with the image and a list of facts, all told in rhyming verse and with enough drama to make the information interesting. The author discusses the physical attributes of the cats, where in the world they are found, and some of their unique traits. This is the type of book that will spark young readers’ interest in wild cats and hopefully encourage them to look for ways to protect them from extinction.