You'd think a book of sad animal facts would be both dreary and dry. Maybe all the other sad animal fact books are, but this particular one manages to be cute and darkly humorous instead. Each fact has a corresponding and endearing illustration of the animal and its brief commentary. The remarks are often surprising — and sometimes surprisingly insightful or funny. Although laugh-out-loud moments aren't too numerous, it's a fun book to thumb through and stands up to repeated browsing (the SadAnimalFacts Instagram account is also worth following). The author is a former reference librarian, and an appendix expanding on the facts in the book and is a welcomed addition.