Amazing Animal Journeys by Chris Packham and Jason Cockroft

Amazing Animal Journeys by Chris Packham and Jason Cockroft
Buy Amazing Animal Journeys by Chris Packham and Jason Cockroft at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Children's Non-Fiction
Reviewer: Sue Magee
Summary: An excellent introduction to migration for the three-plus age group. A real, informative pleasure to read.
Buy? Yes	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 32	Date: January 2016
Publisher: Red Shed
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 978-978-1405277457
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It's only relatively recently that man has actually moved home at certain points of the year to take advantage of the weather or the availability of food, but wild life has been doing it for much longer and every year billions of animals move from one part of the planet to another - that's birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects. This is known as migration - and it's a real pleasure to see it used other than in the context of sensationalist newspaper headlines. Wildlife expert Chris Packham has written this introduction to the subject and it's been beautifully illustrated by Jason Cockroft. (He's the man who did the cover artwork for the final three Harry Potter books!)

The language is perfect for both the subject and the three-plus age group at which it's aimed. It's simple, direct and clear, but never patronising:

Some migrate south in the winter to avoid the cold and to be sure of finding enough food to survive until the spring. (That's the Bewick Swan, in case you were wondering.)

The point of migration is made clear too - some animals don't travel all that far, such as the red deer who come down from the mountains to the seaside, or the pied wagtail who moves from the countryside into the towns. We're introduced to the 'masters of migration', such as the blue whale, the largest creature to have ever lived on earth. At the other end of the scale are the shoals of sardines which swim up the coast of Africa. There's a gentle point made about over-fishing. If too many sardines are caught then it's the whales who suffer! (We didn't hear the sardine's view!)

Some species migrate on a more regular basis: millions of golden jellyfish swim from one end of a seawater lake to the other and back every day as they need to follow the sun which keeps them alive. Packham looks in just the right amount of details for young minds at leatherback turtles, red crabs, wildebeest, free-tailed bats, the monarch butterfly and blackcap birds. For children (or adults!) who would like a little more details there's some more information about the migrations at the back of the book and there are some good basic maps so that you can see what's happening where.

Older children who enjoy this book will appreciate Ultimate Reptileopedia by Christina Wilsdon. We can also recommend The Drop in My Drink by Meredith Hooper and Chris Coady.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Amazing Animal Journeys by Chris Packham and Jason Cockroft at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Amazing Animal Journeys by Chris Packham and Jason Cockroft at Amazon.com.

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