Welcome to our August collection of new children’s nature book releases – fantastic for a spot of summer holiday reading!
The World’s Most Ridiculous Animals – Philip Bunting – Happy Yak – Ages 7-9
The World’s Most Ridiculous Animals is a witty, colourful and quirky nature book full of interesting facts about some of the most absurd and flamboyant animals on the planet. Readers can discover more about some of Earth’s weirdest animals including tardigrades – microscopic creatures that have been around for 600 million years and are some of the toughest in existence. Each animal comes with hilarious annotations and invented Latin names such as ‘Fancypantseum stinkyhoof’ for the okapi, the only living relative of the giraffe. As well as introducing us to the most over-the-top creatures, the book highlights the importance of adaptation, diversity and conservation.
An amusing and inventive look at the most intriguing animals that call planet Earth home.
Philip Bunting’s books have been translated into multiple languages and published in over 25 countries around the world. Philip has received multiple accolades including Honours from the Children’s Book Council of Australia and making the list for the Kate Greenaway Medal in 2018. Philip’s work deliberately encourages playful interaction between the reader and child, allowing his books to create a platform for genuine, intergenerational engagement and fun.
The World’s Most Ridiculous Animals is available to buy from a range of outlets including Amazon, Waterstones, Foyles and the Book Depository.
How Can We Be Kind? – Janet Halfmann – Frances Lincoln Children’s Books – Ages 3-5
This special nature book asks children a simple question: How Can We Be Kind? The answer is by learning from the wisdom of the animal kingdom. Animals demonstrate kindness and empathy towards each other, and care and compassion can be seen all throughout the natural world. Readers are taken through simple ways in which certain animals show their care for each other and helped to understand how they can learn these traits too. Examples include capybaras who let other animals sit on top of them while they wallow in mud, dolphins who guide other species to their destinations, zebras who stick up for their friends and father emus who include lost chicks from other families into their brood. With beautiful illustrations from Darla Okada, there are also facts at the back about how each animal lives with and looks after its fellow creatures.
A fabulous book to teach children the importance of learning kindness from the natural world around us.
Janet Halfmann is an award-winning children’s author who strives to make her books come alive for young readers and listeners. Many of her picture books are about animals and nature. She also writes picture book biographies about little-known people of achievement.
Darla Okada is an illustrator and comic artist living in Colorado with a love for children’s books and graphic novels. She has a soft spot for stories about friendship, growth and independence with dreamy or headstrong characters.
How Can We Be Kind? is available to buy from a range of outlets including Amazon, Waterstones, Foyles and the Book Depository.
The Secret Life of Birds – Moira Butterfield – Happy Yak – Ages 7-11
Did you know that birds navigate by invisible pathways in the sky, that they can call to each in thousands of different ways and that they can be as big as a car or as small as a little finger? The Secret Life of Birds is a collection of delightful stories and engaging facts, which imparts a love of birds and of nature on the next generation, inspiring them to look after the world around them.
Speedy the Swift acts as the reader’s guide through this lovely book to teach about nest-building and bird babies, feathers and beaks, flying journeys, bird calls, really unusual-looking birds, and ways to spot birds and help them near where you live. The added bird folklore stories such as ‘How the peacock got his colours?’ from India provide a magical touch along with the captivating illustrations by Vivian Mineker. This nature book follows on from The Secret Life of Trees and The Secret Life of Bees and aims to assist younger children in developing a lifelong love of birds.
A beautiful look at the world of birds and how they operate, with added mythical sparkle.
Moira Butterfield is an internationally-published children’s book author. Her work includes picture books, board books, fiction and highly-commended non-fiction books that seek to spark a child’s imagination about our world. She studied literature, and has lived in and travelled to many places across the world. She currently lives in Bath with her family, where she loves to cycle, sew and sing.
Vivian Mineker is a Taiwanese American from Taipei and Portland, currently working out of Ljubljana, Slovenia. Her interest in art began at a young age, using drawing to express herself and her inner imaginary world. She uses watercolour, coloured pencil and digital processes to create a blend of traditional texture with a modern look and feel. She is the proud owner of a mini goldendoodle called Darlie.
The Secret Life of Birds is available to buy from a range of outlets including Amazon, Waterstones, Foyles and the Book Depository.
Wild Summer – Sean Taylor & Alex Morss – Happy Yak – Ages 5-7
Learn about life in the heat in this beautiful follow-up to Winter Sleep and Busy Spring, which encourages children to discover the science behind the seasons. Follow a young girl and her grandpa as they walk down a wild path to the coast, spotting amazing plants and animals on their way, and seeing how the summer affects them and their wildlife. With further non-fiction information about the plants and animals they encounter at the back of Wild Summer including how creatures adapt to the heat, and fantastic imagery by Cinyee Chiu, this nature book also touches on ecological and climate change themes, and provides young readers with guidance on how they can help with the climate crisis.
A wonderful narrative journey through the cycles of summer, creating an atmosphere of awe and appreciation for the planet and its wildlife.
Sean Taylor is an award-winning author of over 50 books for young readers. As well as writing, he has many years’ experience visiting schools, where he works with poetry and storytelling to encourage young children to write.
Alex Morss is a freelance ecologist, writer, editor and educator, and one of Avon Wildlife Trust’s Wildlife Champions. She has 20 years’ experience in publishing and 10+ in ecology.
Cinyee Chiu, originally from Taiwan, got her illustration MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art. She is always happy to try new things, and loves making things pretty, playful and exciting.
Wild Summer: Life in the Heat is available to buy from a range of outlets including Amazon, Waterstones, Foyles and the Book Depository.
The World’s Most Ridiculous Animals
£9.19
How Can We Be Kind?
£11.99
The Secret Life of Birds
£9.52
Wild Summer: Life in the Heat
£10.85
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