Things That Make You Go Yuck!: Mystifying Mutants

Albino dolphins, polydactylic cats, all-black chickens, musclebound dogs, oddly-colored lobsters, soil-cleaning flowers, one-pound tomatoes, singing mice, and ten-legged spiders…these are just some of the curiosities awaiting young minds in Mystifying Mutants, the latest edition of the Things That Make You Go Yuck! series.

At its heart, this is a book about genetics, exploring the science behind adaptation, evolution, and mutation…all the things that help creatures differentiate themselves. But the book never bogs down in scientific jargon, preferring instead to offer a quick introduction to genetic science before diving headfirst into dozens of examples of unexpected mutations, unlikelihoods, and outliers in the animal, plant, and insect communities.

Written with surprising wit and charm, this book is as funny as it is informative, never losing sight of educating the reader, even while entertaining you with trivia questions, goofy asides, ideas for assignments, and impressive photography that brings each of these unique creatures to life.

I don’t know if anything in this book will actually make you go “yuck!”, but it’ll probably make you go “wow!”