The title of this book is a bit misleading: the stories of globetrotting and animal observing collected here aren’t so much amazing animal adventures as they are very interesting Brian Keating adventures. (As for Going Wild, well, they couldn’t really have called it Lying on the Ground Watching Things). Keating is, among other things, head of the Calgary Zoo’s Conservation Outreach Department. Perhaps just as pertinent to this book, he is also regularly featured on the Discovery Channel.

Indeed, this book has the feel of a TV tie-in, with more emphasis on anecdotes filled with gross (iguana snot) or heartwarming (penguin family reunion) details, and less on hard science. Not that there isn’t an abundance of interesting facts and information here, but the real focus is Keating and his undeniable enthusiasm for all non-human creatures. Keating’s urge to make the natural world seem less alien occasionally makes for some odd similes: baby proboscis monkeys and sunbathing iguanas are both, in separate chapters, described as looking like gum stuck to the underside of a chair; the canopy of a Guyanese rainforest is likened to “the upstairs of my house, where you find colorful paintings, chandeliers, nice glassware, and more.” Who knew the rainforest was so bourgeois?

Perhaps because this book is the first in a planned eight-volume series, Going Wild lacks a central thematic or narrative focus, and feels like a mere teaser. Except for being chased by lions, Keating’s adventures are fairly passive, mostly involving lying in a tent or on an observation platform. The information here might be too basic for someone who’s already an animal enthusiast, but Going Wild might be just the thing to help inspire a kid to become one.