animals

Batkiwi by Melinda Szymanik and Isobel Joy Te Aho-White

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It’s official – Melinda Szymanik is a genius! She has taken our most famous flightless bird, and an internationally recognised symbol of New Zealand, and turned it into a superhero. But we all know that the greatest superheroes can’t save the world alone. They need a super friend to help them. That’s where Bat comes in. Together they are Batkiwi!

More than anything in the world, Kiwi really wants to help others. When he hears the cries of animals in distress he races as fast as his little legs will carry him, to do what he can to help. He’s pretty fast, but never fast enough. When he arrives he’s either too late or he doesn’t have the abilities needed to help. After trying but failing to help, over and over again, Kiwi feels down. He slinks back to his cave, and it is here that he meets Bat. Two is always better than one, and Bat wants to help. Together they become the dynamic duo of Batkiwi, and they are finally able to help save the day.

Batkiwi is a gem of a picture book that proves what we can all do if we work together. My daughter summed Batkiwi up perfectly, saying ‘it’s a story about being kind.’ Kiwi is an incredibly kind creature who just wants to help others, but he gets quite deflated when he just can’t help. Being unable to fly and having short legs really sucks, especially when Kiwi sees what the other animals can do.

Melinda Szymanik’s story is filled with gorgeous language and lots of repeated phrases that will encourage children to join in. Each time a hero is needed, Kiwi runs ‘as fast as his sturdy legs could carry him. He was pretty fast…but he wasn’t fast enough.’ Isobel Joy Te Aho-White’s illustrations are evocative of the New Zealand bush, which comes alive in the moonlight. I love the way that she has given the animals real personality, while making sure they still look like those animals. Kiwi, for instance, looks determined and excited as he runs off to help, and Isobel has given him a koru design on his face. One of my favourite images shows Kiwi running (from front on) with a burst of colour behind him. You can almost imagine a superhero cape flapping behind him as he runs.

Another aspect of this book that I really love is the design. Although the story takes place at night, white space has been cleverly used. Sometimes this means the text drifts across the page on tendrils of mist or smoke, and on the second page, some of the text is on the moon. On other pages, Melinda’s text has been perfectly cocooned by Isobel’s illustrations.

Batkiwi is a picture book that will be enjoyed over and over again. It’s a must-have for the family bookshelf, preschools and school libraries.

Interview with Sandra Morris

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Sandra Morris is the award-winning author of many wonderful picture books and children’s nonfiction books. In Sandra’s latest book, North and South, we learn about the differences in seasons between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and how the animals that live there deal with the changing seasons. You can read my rave review here on the blog. It is a fascinating book and it made me wonder about how Sandra chose which animals would be featured in the book. Read my interview with Sandra to find out the answer to this question and more.

  • North and South: A tale of two hemispheres is a unique concept for a children’s nonfiction book about wildlife. You compare wildlife from the Northern Hemisphere with those from the Southern Hemisphere. What inspired you to present the information in this way?

In North and South I presented wildlife in each month looking at the opposite seasons. As a child I was fascinated that two halves of the world experience such different weather systems at the same time. I thought if I showed both halves on each double spread with an animal from each hemisphere then it is pretty immediate and accessible for children to see the contrast.

  • How did you decide what wildlife to include in the book?

It was pretty challenging deciding on the final list of animals to be portrayed. I made an initial list after reading an old Readers Digest book on animals through the seasons. On further research I found out quite a few had become extinct- particularly disappointing! I made a more refined list and sent it to my Candlewick US editors and they made a further selection. We tried to represent as wide a species list as possible – birds, insects, mammals, marine life etc. and to cover as many different countries as possible. I also wanted to include some lesser known species like Portuguese man of war, stag beetles, and honeypot ants.

  • There were so many things that fascinated me reading this book, from the difference that heat makes to the sex of baby crocodiles to the hilarious way that Lyrebirds copy the sounds around them. What was the most fascinating thing you discovered while researching this book?

One of the most fascinating things was to learn how many of her young are carried in the jaws of the female salt water crocodile down to the river shortly after hatching. It was impossible to find images so I had to reconstruct that image myself- I have since seen amazing photos and she does cram them in!! Like an overloaded bus!!

  • A lot of effort has gone in to the design of North and South. It’s so important to get the design right in a children’s nonfiction book, as you want children to be able to find the information they need but also enjoy reading it. Did you have much of a say in the design?

Yes the design was largely mine. It went through various changes due to the publisher wanting it to sell foreign rights, so all my original coloured, hand lettering had to go and they replaced them with the black and white fonts. Also, I had originally had all the extra facts at the back making it a rather lengthy book, so the designer brought all the extra facts into each spread, running them down the side of the images. Therefore, all the images had to be reduced – they originally bled off the page with just a small amount of text within the image. But I am happy with what the designer has done and I understand all the reasons why. Sometimes you have to make compromises if you want the book to have a wider market appeal internationally. You just cant get too precious. I love it that it’s a team effort and I was lucky that Sarah Davies at Walker Australia made such good design decisions.

  • One of the design features that I really love about North and South is the map on the endpapers. Were maps an important feature to include in the book?

Yes. Originally the world map with animals was going on the Introduction page and Sarah suggested it as endpapers. This freed up more internal space. It was also her idea to include a small map on each spread, so that it was immediately clear where each animal lived.

  • What is your process of illustrating the wildlife you feature in your books? Do you watch videos and pore over photos?

I usually try to draw from life as much as possible, but as most of these animals do not live in NZ that was out of the question. So I referred to many books, Google images and videos for visual reference.

  • You have written and illustrated many books about New Zealand wildlife, and both the Bar-tailed Godwit and the Brown Kiwi feature in North and South. Do you have a favourite New Zealand creature that you love to illustrate? What is it that appeals about this creature?

For many years I have observed and sketched from life the amazing Bar-tailed godwits at Pukorokoro Miranda on the firth of Thames. I have grown to love these birds and admire their amazing annual migratory feats!! They fly non-stop from Alaska to NZ – 11,000 kms every southern summer to feed on our mudflats to be in peak breeding condition to fly back via several feeding spots, to breed in the Alaskan tundra as it thaws. It is such a worry that changing climate conditions and human habitation and development is chewing up their feeding grounds. This has a huge impact on their survival. There is clear evidence that their numbers have severely decreased. Statistics show they are declining by 2% a year.

  • Many of the animals featured in North and South have a special ability like changing their appearance to camouflage into their environment, copying the sounds of other animals, or storing honey in their swollen bellies for when it’s needed. If you could choose one animal ability to have yourself, what would you choose?

An animal ability I would choose is flight – what an amazing ability. To just make up your mind to lift off and go places with no cost to the environment!!

The Last Bear by Hannah Gold – extract and author intro

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The Last Bear by Hannah Gold has just been released in NZ, in a beautiful hardback edition, with illustrations by Levi Penfold (the illustrator of the new editions of Harry Potter). The book sounds amazing and I can’t wait to read it. Here is the cover and blurb:

There are no polar bears left on Bear Island. At least, that’s what April’s father tells her when his scientific research takes them to this remote Arctic outpost for six months. But one endless summer night, April meets one. He is starving, lonely and a long way from home. Determined to save him, April begins the most important journey of her life…

Hannah Gold says about her book:

The character of Bear came to me first. I can’t remember when or how, but suddenly he was gazing at me with his dark chocolate eyes and a forlorn, pleading expression on his face. I’ve always found it impossible to ignore animals, particularly ones as magnificent, regal and bighearted as Bear. There was a story he had to tell, and I, apparently, was the one to tell it. When I wrote this book, most of the children’s books about climate change were dystopian. But I believe it’s not too late and that’s why I was keen to tell a story that showed how one girl, even a very little one, could create a huge impact. You don’t need to single-handedly rescue a polar bear like April (I wouldn’t advise that!), but I hope this book encourages every reader to believe that he or she can help. And if, like me, you’ve fallen in love with Bear, then the best way to help polar bears and protect our beautiful planet is to do everything you can to fight climate change. With a loud enough roar, I know we can make a difference.

You can watch a short video of Hannah introducing the book and the book trailer below. You can also read an extract of Chapter One.

The Last Bear by Hannah Gold and illustrated by Levi Penfold is available in NZ now.

North and South by Sandra Morris

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Sandra Morris is the award-winning author and illustrator of both picture books and children’s nonfiction. Sandra has introduced Kiwi kids to many of our native birds, reptiles, trees and insects through her engaging books. In her latest book, North and South, Sandra compares and contrasts the wildlife that lives in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

In North and South we learn about the differences in seasons between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and how the animals that live there deal with the changing seasons. Sandra highlights the effect of the rapid heating of our planet on the habitats of these creatures, as well as the effect that it has on migratory habits and the sex of hatching reptiles. Starting in January and going through until December, each double page spread presents an animal from the Northern Hemisphere and one from the Southern Hemisphere. As well as focusing on the month and the season, each spread also focuses on a different aspect about those animals. The spread for March focuses on Mothers and Babies and compares the polar bear (in the Northern spring) with the saltwater crocodile (in the Southern autumn). The warming seas and melting ice mean the polar bears need to swim and walk further for a meal. The hotter temperatures also affect the sex of the crocodile hatchlings, with warmer temperatures meaning the hatchlings will be male. There is a handy mini map with each animal so that you can see where they live, and Sandra also explains the threats to each animal. At the back of the book there is a concise glossary, an index and suggestions of where to find more information and how you can help the wildlife.

North and South is a perfect children’s nonfiction book, that is engaging, cleverly designed and gorgeously illustrated. This is the kind of book that can be read cover-to-cover or easily dipped into. There will animals that children know, but others that they will discover for the first time. They’ll also discover astounding facts about these animals that they’ll want to share with their friends and family. The layout is really kid-friendly because the illustrations are large, there’s just the right amount of text, and there’s a mini-map on every spread. It’s a great book to not only learn about animals and their differences, but also to highlight the differences in the seasons of Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

This book made me go ‘Wow!’ so many times! I found it fascinating how the sex of crocodile hatchlings can change with a difference in temperature. I had heard of the Lyrebird before but had no idea how cool this bird is. It can mimic other birds that it hears, as well as other sounds, including drills and chainsaws. I was so astounded by this that I spent quite a while watching YouTube videos of these birds. I laughed so hard listening to them!

Sandra Morris’ illustrations are stunning and the design of the book is superb. It’s a beautiful book to look through and read. One of my favourite aspects of the book is the maps. The end papers are a world map with animal icons, showing where they live, and the mini-map on each spread shows this too.

I love North and South! It is a book that should be on the shelf of all animal lovers and is an invaluable resource for schools. I know that this book will be pored over in my school library and I’ll be promoting it to all of my classes.

Birds of New Zealand, Ngā Manu o Aotearoa: Collective Nouns by Melissa Boardman

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I have a new found appreciation and interest in birds thanks to a board game that I’m currently obsessed with, called Wingspan. Up until recently I wouldn’t have considered myself a board game person but Wingspan has sparked my enthusiasm for both board games and birds. In the game you collect birds, eggs and food and play them on your board. The base game is made up of North American birds, and you can get expansions for birds of Europe and Oceania. Discovering the birds in the game has led me to want to know more about them, especially our New Zealand birds. In my search I came across a beautiful book that has recently been released about New Zealand birds called Birds of New Zealand: Collective Nouns by Melissa Boardman.

Birds of New Zealand: Collective Nouns is bursting with Melissa’s stunning illustrations of New Zealand birds, alongside a collective noun for the group of birds. Inside this book you’ll discover a rattle of sacred kingfishers, a ringing of bellbirds, a raft of little blue penguins, a hive of stitchbirds, and a booming of kākāpō. Each collective noun has also been translated in to te reo Māori. The collective nouns used in the book are a mixture of existing nouns, nouns adapted from similar overseas birds, and ones made up for the book. Each collective noun perfectly captures each bird’s characteristics, whether it is related to their appearance, the sounds they make or their colour. At the back of the book Melissa gives you a snippet of information about each of the birds included in the book, separating them into categories depending on how threatened or vulnerable they are.

I am smitten with this book and keep going back to look at it again and again. It’s the perfect book to leave out on a coffee table or open on a bookshelf and change the pages every now and again to show different birds. It would be a great book to have in a classroom or school library for kids to look through and discover new birds and collective nouns for them. Melissa’s art is stunning and I would love to have prints of them all over my house.

If you are a bird fan you must pick up a copy of Birds of New Zealand: Collective Nouns.

A Day in the Life of a Poo, a Gnu and You by Mike Barfield and Jess Bradley

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A Day in the Life of a Poo, a Gnu and You is the kid’s nonfiction book that you need in your life. Not only will you laugh your socks off, you’ll learn some amazing facts while doing it! It is the funniest, most entertaining and totally unique general nonfiction books for kids around. I guarantee that this is going to be the most looked-at nonfiction book in my school library because it screams ‘PICK ME UP!’

It is bursting with short comics that give kids a glimpse in to the life of organs in your body, gross bodily functions, animals of all shapes and sizes, plants, planets, rainbows and much, much more. You’ll learn how farts form, where poo goes when you flush it away, how a sea jelly swims, what a pangolin’s scales are made out of, and how bananas grow. As well as the ‘Day in the Life of a…’ pages there are also ‘The Bigger Picture’ sections which give extra detail, and secret diary sections which show you extracts from the secret diaries of an earthworm, a red blood cell, and a lightning bolt. Each thing, whether it is a hand, a pimple or a worm has a unique personality and a different way to tell its story.

This is a book is super accessible for kids of all ages, with simple text and bright, funny illustrations that anyone. It’s a nonfiction book that parents and teachers especially will love sharing with kids. Between Mike’s text and Jess’s illustrations you will be laughing your head off. They have managed to pack a lot of information into a page or two of comic, with just enough detail to astound you. Jess’s illustrations always make me laugh and she has had plenty of different things to draw in this book. I love the expressions she gives to the characters, even each individual toe on the foot.

Some of my favourite facts from the book include:

  • a single elephant can wee up to 9 litres at a time
  • male platypuses have poisonous foot spurs
  • the amount that a sloth poos once a week is like us doing a poo the size of a small dog
  • there are blue bananas!

A Day in the Life of Poo, a Gnu and You is going to be incredibly popular with kids. The comic format means that my graphic novel fans (of which there are many at my school) will gobble this book up. I just need to buy myself a copy because the library copy will get issued and passed around all of the kids.

Sherlock Bones and the Sea-Creature Feature by Renée Treml

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Everyone has wondered what happens in a museum at night. There have been books written and movies made about it. In Sherlock Bones and the Natural History Mystery, Renée Treml introduced us to the great detective known as Sherlock Bones. The always sharp and super-observant tawny frogmouth skeleton is back on the case again in his latest mystery, Sherlock Bones and the Sea-Creature Feature.

Sherlock Bones lives in the State Natural History Museum with his pals Grace the raccoon and Watts the stuffed parrot. When the sun goes down and the humans leave, Sherlock and his friends come alive. A new wing of the museum has just opened, with new exhibits, but Sherlock has heard of a swamp monster that is scaring the visitors and the octopus is missing. Where there is a mystery Sherlock Bones isn’t far away.

Sherlock Bones and the Sea-Creature Feature is a pun-tastic read that is both laugh-out-loud funny and chock-full of facts. Sherlock not only thinks he is an amazing detective (he’s really not), he also thinks he’s the funniest bird around (he just ends up making himself laugh). He has plenty of bad puns up his sleeve that will make readers young and old crack up. Unlike Sherlock and Grace, Watts never says anything out loud but he still communicates with Sherlock and his wings can be extended to help Sherlock fly around the museum. Sherlock and his pals are always on the lookout for clues but the reader sees things that they completely miss. Grace spends a good part of the story distracted with a Rubix cube and isn’t aware of what is going on around her.

The story is told in a graphic novel format, with black and white illustrations. Sherlock is a skeleton but Renée has given him so much personality. I think the star of the show has to be Nivlac though, as he is able to turn invisible and disguise himself. You can tell that Renée has had a lot of fun hiding Nivlac in the illustrations.

The thing I love the most about this book is the way that Renée incorporates information into the story. There are facts about the exhibits in the illustrations that help to explain what is happening in the story. The exhibit about the octopus says that octopus do not have a skeleton which means they can squeeze into tight spaces. This explains why the octopus goes missing. It’s one of those books that is really entertaining but you don’t realise you’re learning something at the same time.

I highly recommend both Sherlock Bones books, especially for kids who struggle to find something to read. They’ll be hooked straight away. They’re also great for kids who have read all of the Bad Guys books by Aaron Blabey as they’re a similar format and sense of humour.

Agent Moose by Mo O’Hara and Jess Bradley

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Kids everywhere are obsessed with Dogman, so it’s always great when I come across a new series that I can recommend to Dogman fans. Agent Moose is the new series by Mo O’Hara and Jess Bradley and it has everything that kids love about Dogman – laughs galore, bold illustrations, and characters that they’ll love coming back to.

Whenever there is trouble in Big Forest there is only one team for the job – Anonymoose and Owlfred. With Anonymoose’s astounding skills of disguise and Owlfred’s calm attitude and patience in a crisis these two catch the criminals…eventually. Something strange is going on at South Shore. Terence Turtle, a witness in a high-profile robbery case, has disappeared and its up to Anonymoose and Owlfred to find him. Unfortunately for Anonymoose that means a run-in with his competition, Camo Chameleon. Camo has just solved his 100th case, making him the best agent at Woodland HQ. That title was supposed to be Anonymoose’s and he’s still bitter about it. Anonymoose and Owlfred are going to have to go undercover and discover what is happening to the animals of Big Forest.

Agent Moose is absolutely brilliant! Mo and Jess have created characters that kids are going to go wild for. The story is super funny and full of gags that readers of all ages will love. I’m a huge fan of Jess’ art, from reading her Squid Bits comics in The Phoenix Comic, so it’s really great to see a whole book full of her art. I love that her illustrations are so simple but all of the characters have a personality. The simple illustrations and the sparse text make this book perfect for younger readers and it’s a great introduction to graphic novels.

Anonymoose and Owlfred are complete opposites but they make the perfect team. Anonymoose is sauve and fantastic at disguise, but not very smart. Owlfred is the brains of the operation and is the one who is calm and rational. Every time Anonymoose was in disguise he made me laugh, because he is so obviously a moose dressed as a turtle or a palm tree. The other characters don’t see this though and often get startled when he talks.

This is just the first book in a series that I hope with have many more books to come. I know that kids are going to gobble this one up and be desperate for book 2 (coming in March 2021). Check out the fantastic book trailer below (this will be great to hook kids in).

Marshmallow Pie the Cat Superstar by Clara Vulliamy

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Move over Grumpy Cat and Pusheen, there’s a new cat set for stardom – Marshmallow Marmaduke Vanilla-Bean Sugar-Pie Fluffington-Fitz-Noodle (or Marshmallow Pie for short). He’s the star of Clara Vulliamy’s wonderful new series, a series so adorable you’ll want to pick it up and cuddle it.

Marshmallow Pie is one spoiled cat (just look at his name). After spending his early years in a huge house in the country he now lives in an apartment in the city with Amelia Lime and her dad. He spends his days sitting in the sunshine on the balcony and tormenting Buster, the dog who lives in the flat below. When Amelia brings home a leaflet about an acting opportunity for Pie, his training and preparation begins. Amelia wants to get Pie fit so they have a special training regime that he is so not interested in. The day of the audition arrives and Pie is unfazed by the competition until Buster arrives and chaos ensues. All hope of fame looks lost unless Pie can get a second chance.

I love absolutely everything about this series, from the gorgeous design and covers, to the spot-on voice and personality of Marshmallow Pie, and the joyful illustrations. The first two books in the series, The Cat Superstar and The Cat Superstar on TV, have been released at the same time, which is fantastic because readers don’t have to wait for book 2. I read the first book aloud to my 5 year old daughter and we loved it so much that we read the second book the next night. The stories are narrated by Pie, whose voice is exactly how you think a snooty, spoiled, slightly vain cat would sound. The first couple of sentences set the story up perfectly and lets you know who you’re dealing with:

‘Oh, hello. Yes, you can come in, but you can’t sit down because there’s only room for me on this sofa.’

Pie may act nonchalant but don’t let that fool you because he can be quite sweet too.

Marshmallow Pie’s stunning good looks and star quality shine through in Clara’s illustrations. She shows us his cute side, his tricky side and his I’m-not-impressed side. I especially love the illustrations of Pie ‘working out’ and his large secret stash behind the sofa. I also really like the maps that Clara has drawn at the front of the books, showing Pie’s flat and the TV studio.

Credit needs to be given to the team at HarperCollins for the thought that has gone in to the design of this series. They are incredibly attractive books with huge appeal to kids. I need to buy my own copies, not only to read them again, but also just to have them on my bookshelf side by side.

Get this series for the young reader in your life. They are the perfect books for independent readers but I highly recommend them as a read aloud. They are the sort of books that adults will love as much as kids.

Hotel Flamingo: Fabulous Feast by Alex Milway

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Anna and the team at Hotel Flamingo are back again in the latest book in the series, Fabulous Feast. This is one of my favourite series for younger readers so I always love returning to Hotel Flamingo. If you haven’t discovered this series yet here’s the gist of the series. A human girl, Anna, inherits the run-down Hotel Flamingo, and with a lot of hard work from her and her animal team, they turn it into one of the best hotels on Animal Boulevard.

In Fabulous Feast, Anna is trying to encourage more guests to come and stay at Hotel Flamingo after a long, quiet winter. Anna comes up with the idea of having a cooking contest at the hotel to find the best chef on Animal Boulevard. Anna and her team go out in search of chefs to enter the contest. Three chefs enter – Peston Crumbletart from The Fat Cat Restaurant, Toot-Toot from the Glitz Hotel and Le Pig from Hotel Flamingo. The competition is fierce but only one chef can come out on top.

Fabulous Feast is full of everything I love about the series – the chaos of a hotel, wonderful characters and animals of all sorts. As well as the busyness of preparing for the contest, Anna and her team have to deal with a crashed carrier pigeon, a couple of highland cows with a love of gourmet grass, and a coconut octopus with an urgent need for super-salty water.

Anna has a brilliant team who help the hotel to run smoothly. Lemmy the lemur manages the front desk, Stella the giraffe does the repairs and building work, T. Bear is the doorman, and Le Pig is the chef. They all go above and beyond the call of duty for the job they love and Anna can always rely on them.

One of my favourite aspects of the series is the way that Alex introduces readers to different types of animals and includes their unique characteristics. Anna and her team go out of their way to make sure the animals have what they need to make their stay comfortable. If otters come to stay the pool is specially prepared for them. If penguins come to stay ice is specially brought in. In this story the coconut octopus needs very briny water and Lemmy hunts down all the salt he can to add to the bath.

Book your stay at the 5-star Hotel Flamingo now.