2 out of 4 stars
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Who doesn’t like animals? I think we all do. There is a wide spectrum of varied and astounding species in this planet. They have remarkable skills, instincts and lessons for us. From a tiny ant to a huge giraffe, animals teach us what to do or not to do silently. GET INSPIRED WITH ANIMALS Animals Teach Us Life written by Nabi Gueye highlights profound lessons we can get from some animals in a simple style.
Knowing the importance of learning lessons from animals, author Nabi Gueye decides to write this raw diamond guidebook. In here readers can decide whether to read about an animal a day or the whole book in one sitting, for the book is very short with only 51 pages, one for each animal. Actually, most of the facts shared by the author will not be new for the readers; instead, the reader will get clever, keen teachings.
The truth is animals are worth admiring and valuing. They behave in ways that inspire us compassion, patience, strength, responsibility, respect, and unity. As smart creatures, the least we can do is to imitate these wonderful qualities in our life. This is why I chose to read this book.
For example: What can we learn about crocodiles, hares and pigs? In Nabi’s guidebook, the reader might get excited paralleling the patience crocodiles have when waiting for their prey to come closer with the patience a person must have before opening a business. Hares are skillful runners because of their spectacular strong hind legs, and what is the lesson we can learn from them? If we have a skill, exploit it. That skill can get us out of a pickle. And pigs are usually seen as filthy animals because they are always covered by mud. However, they do so to avoid sunburns. Lesson? If we want to achieve a goal, think first about the reputation we will get. Is it worthy?
Nevertheless, as I mentioned before, this guidebook is a raw diamond. I was very thrilled when I picked this book. I thought I was going to learn new things about these animals, but the “facts” about the animals mentioned in the book are quite basic, and sometimes I felt the author did not research about the animal. He just expressed his point of view or observation, such as when talking about cows, horses, and zebras.
Besides, in my PDF version, the formatting of the book needs to be edited. There are texts that overlap each other; for instance, the bear and the bee on page 7. I couldn’t read well the information about the bear because the text about the bee was on the top. The same error happens in other pages as well. Also, there are issues with typos and odd wording. In fact, the book can be better organized. When reading it, I couldn’t stop asking myself: What will the reader learn from this animal? An attribute? A behavior? A skill? How or when a reader can apply the lesson? For example: when talking about giraffes, the lesson is “If you are given the chance in whatever, make the most of it.” The reader will benefit more if sample situations are given and if it is explained how the lesson can be applied. Lastly, there is not a single illustration of the animals in the whole book aside from the cover. If we are talking about animals, the reader expects to see the animal in an image, or a drawing.
In sum, people buy cut diamonds because their brilliance and scintillation are beautiful. In fact, that is why cut diamonds draw anyone’s attention. I believe this guidebook will be a cut diamond once it gets professionally edited and it will be admired by quite a wide audience. But now it only gets a 2 out of 4 stars from me.
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Animals teach us life
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