It isn’t fair to expect greatness from a 15-year-old – let alone from one known to be painfully self-deprecating and burdened with eco-anxiety and existential angst. Each page sets the animal in question within its natural surroundings, and is full of the sort of facts that left my son and me staring dumfounded at each other (did you know that if you look through a tokay gecko’s ears you can see straight through its head? The book covers animals, habitats, ocean geography and ecological concepts such as food webs, making it a genuinely educational resource. This puptastic narrative focuses on Antoinette and her desire to figure out what makes her extra special, and just like Gaston taught an important message about diversity, this lovely follow up teaches children about valuing their originality. Starring a friendly dog who can't wait to start his life in his new town – and make lots of new friends – this is a great book to read with children ahead of a move to a new school, house or neighbourhood.

Where the Wild Things Are: A Caldecott Award Winner Where the Wild Things Are: A Caldecott Award Winner

The same year, Booklist included The Wild Robot on their "50 Best Middle-Grade Novels of the 21st Century" list. A gorgeous lullaby in book form, this captures the feel of a rural winter night – complete with foxes, rabbits, owls, and, my personal animal obsession, deer.Come on an adventure to the wonderful world of Moominvalley, introduced for the first time through the letters of the alphabet. When We Went Wild tells the story of two farmers who make the shift from industrial farming to rewilding, and the wonderful benefits that this brings for wildlife, their community, their animals and for them.

Wild | TeachingEnglish | British Council Wild | TeachingEnglish | British Council

Exposition is delivered here with refreshing humanity, inspiring readers to sit up, champion the challenges that animals face and take action. G Leonard, it takes the reader on a journey of entomological discovery that is as delightful as it is educational.Loosely based around nature rambles, Kronreif’s artwork shows urban settings as well as the idyllic ponds, woods and coasts that are the staple fare of similar books.

best picture books for children - Pan Macmillan 100 of the best picture books for children - Pan Macmillan

Within five minutes his restless little fingers had played each of the different songs countless times. The book covers all the basics of getting into wildlife, from fieldcraft and photography tips to getting connected with like-minded people.

In 2016, The Wild Robot was named one of the best children's books of the year by Kirkus Reviews, [8] the New York Public Library, Publishers Weekly, [13] and Shelf Awareness. Her wandering albatross has a hint of Hokusai, and there’s something of William Morris in the axolotl. There’s no over technical language to get bogged down in ensuring important messages are accessible and digestible. Young children will love lifting the flaps to discover the animals the zoo has sent – a monkey, a lion and even an elephant!

Peter Brown (illustrator) - Wikipedia Peter Brown (illustrator) - Wikipedia

Regular anthropomorphism jars slightly (puffins ‘bump into’ and flamingos ‘dance with’ their ‘friends’) and the odd misguided statement is frustrating (urban peregrines nest on skyscrapers because it ‘reminds’ them of cliffs used ‘in the wild’).

The next time I get my theories of natural, sexual and kin selection as mixed up with each other as a double helix of DNA, I’ll know where to go. The eruption in 2014 of an underwater volcano in the South Pacific gave birth to the island of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai, one of the world’s newest islands. Though it ends with a strong ecological message about coral bleaching, featuring key facts and the actions we can all take to safeguard the sea, it first and foremost immerses children in the colourful, diverse and fascinating world of the coral reef.