Just So Stories

Penguin Australia

October 2024

• ISBN: 9781761347467
• Imprint: Penguin
• RRP: $39.99

Meet the Four Artists Behind Taronga Zoo’s Big Book of Animals

In case you missed my recent reviews of Kristin Darrell’s new junior fiction series featuring all the excitement of Taronga Zoo, you should really pick them up now and pair them with this extraordinarily beautiful encyclopedia of animal facts, showcasing animals of all kinds.

Given Xmas is just around the corner, what a super gift package you could make for the young animal enthusiast in your circle – and then, why not follow up with a zoo outing. Although this link outlines the program for the October past holidays, keep your eyes peeled because I feel sure there will be more excitement lined up for the Xmas break. If you can’t get to Taronga, we have many others around the country to choose from -both large and small.

I know very few kiddos who aren’t interested in animals of some kind or another, and I always find that sharing information books with some fast facts or quirky insights, is a guaranteed winner. When that information is accompanied by seriously outstanding illustrations, it’s a certainty to please. You may be nurturing a young biologist or vet, a zoo keeper or conservationist, a documentary maker or an animal trainer – who knows? There are many exciting career paths for animal lovers but even without that possibility, this is about feeding a child’s thirst for knowledge, interest in the natural world and delight in the unusual.

Lots will know about wombats’ cube-shaped poo and their butts that are shield-like. They might even know that the dark rings around a meerkat’s eyes function as ‘sunglasses’ reducing glare so that the animal can more easily spot predators. But would they know that budgerigars with which they might be familiar as pets, can have over 1000 variations in colours? They might have learned about the tiny corroboree frogs, which are endangered, but do they know that these amazing little guys create their own toxins from the insects they eat? That’s impressive! What about finding out that a giant anteater, standing on its hind legs, is taller than an adult male? Or that baby dunnarts are smaller than a grain of rice? If they live in places where they see wildlife, even in suburbia like us, they might well know that echidnas have glittery poo, or ringtail possums often eat theirs [for more on this subject, read Poo at the Zoo!!].

What I particularly love about this cornucopia of wildlife is that the facts are presented in small, easily digestible bite-sized paragraphs – some of them just the one fact for an animal, while others might have several. This not only makes this ideal for the ‘dip in and out’ reader but also for the kiddos who are just embarking on their serious independent reading. With chapters organised by geographical habitats, and including maps, this is a wholistic approach to finding out more about both the animals and Taronga’s commitment to endangered species and securing a safe future for all creatures. The illustrations really are spectacular and the overall design creates real excitement and engagement, so well done to all the illustrators and designer, as well as the Conservation Society.

It really is sumptuous and your kiddos from around 6 or so would eat it up without a doubt. Excitingly as well, there was a recently released Activity book from Penguin – so really, there’s a whole delightful Santa sack package for a lucky young naturalist. It gets a wild 5 🐘🦏🦒🦁🦓 rating from me – rawrrrrrrrrrrr!!!