Newest Animals and Wildlife Reviews
The Little Book of Woodland Bird Songs by Andrea Pinnington and Caz Buckingham
Take a well-put-together board book (don't worry about it being a board book - no one is going to say that they’re a bit too old for a board book once they see it), add exquisite pictures of a dozen birds - one on each double-page spread - and then fill in the details. You'll need the name of the bird in English and Latin and a description of the bird in words which a child can understand but which won't patronise an adult. Then you'll need details of where the bird is found, what it eats, where it nests, how many eggs it lays, how the male and female adults differ and their size. Then you need a 'Did you know?' fact and this needs to be something which will interest children, but which adults might not know either. Does it sound simple? Well it isn't, but 'The Little Book of Woodland Bird Songs' does it perfectly. And there's a bonus, but I'll tell you about that in a moment. Full review...
The English Countryside (Amazing and Extraordinary Facts) by Ruth Binney
I live in the countryside and spend as much time as the weather will allow exploring it, so the chance to read Ruth Binney's The English Countryside was too good to be missed. We've met Ruth before at Bookbag and we know that she writes well and interestingly, but just one thing was worrying me about this book. It's a hardback and beautifully presented but its the size of book that you slip into a pocket or handbag. Would it be rather superficial? Full review...
The Hunt by Alastair Fothergill and Huw Cordey
My mother has long complained that nature programmes too often concentrate on the death and violence, or how it's all about the capture and killing of one animal by another. She's long had a point, but killer whales swanning by doing nothing, and lions sleeping off the heat without munching on a passing wildebeest's leg really don't cut it when it comes to providing popular TV content. I doubt she will be tuning in to the series this book accompanies, even if the volume very quickly testifies that it's not all about the capture – often the chase can be just as thrilling, and the result for the intended victim is favourable. Full review...
Claxton: Notes From a Small Planet by Mark Cocker
In 2001, author Mark Cocker moved to Claxton, a small village in Norfolk that manages to be wonderfully remote, and yet only a few miles from Norwich. In a series of writings spanning the course of a year, Cocker quietly explores nature in the village, and his relationship to the living things around him, as well as the surrounding landscape. All written with a deep knowledge and a wonderful eye for detail, Cocker truly gets to the heart of the local wildlife and the local community. Full review...
Hare by Zoe Greaves and Leslie Sadlier
Some animals feature large in mythology and the hare is one of these. The hare we're going to meet is O'Hare - well, we hope we're going to meet him: hares are well known for being elusive and this one is no exception! We'll be following him through the churchyard on a moonlit night - see him leaping in front of the moon - and through a summer meadow, where we only catch sight of his hind legs and his ears. Look on the riverbank - is that him in the water? Then he's in amongst the cabbages - the farmer is not going to be pleased about that. Is he in the foxglove patch? We can see the fox, but it looks as though O'Hare has gone. The best sighting we have of him is on the corn field, where he's leaping through the stubble. Full review...
Of Orcas and Men: What Killer Whales Can Teach Us by David Neiwert
'Profoundly humbling experiences are good for our souls,' Neiwert asserts in the first pages of his all-encompassing book about killer whales. For him, encountering orcas, one of the world's largest mammals, has been both humbling and inspiring, reminding him that humans are just one among many wondrous species and that it is wrong for us to exploit other creatures for our own benefit. After moving to Seattle, he tried for three years to see the whales, and finally gave up; it was only when he began spending time in the places where the orcas live, simply for the pleasure of it, that he started seeing them all the time. Full review...
The Tiger Prowls: a pop-up book of wild animals by Seb Braun
It's a hardback book with a striking cover and when you open it, don't expect endpapers or gentle introductions: as you lift the cover, the tiger of the title appears:
The tiger prowls, stalking through the jungle.
Paw after heavy paw crunches on the forest floor.
Full review...
Dinoblock by Christopher Franceschelli
As befits a book about dinosaurs, 'Dinoblock' is suitably chunky. Not monstrously large but enticingly substantial in a 'pick me up and read me' kind of way. Inside this board book, twenty plus beasts are on parade. If you don't know your Triassic from your Jurassic step this way… Full review...
The Hounds of Falsterbo by Jules Nilsson
In between the beach huts
Where the white sands meet the seas,
The heather meets the sand dunes
And long grasses dance the breeze.
Full review...
Favourite Deadly Facts by Steve Backshall
Many people have wondered what limbo must feel like. I for one think it will be like being trapped on a long car journey with an enthusiastic child clasping a bumper book of facts. There is nothing quite like a book about how long, how short or how wide something is to put a certain type of child in clover. This type of book should come with a warning sticker on the front as any nearby adult is going to get their ear talked off, especially if it is a bumper fact book. Full review...
The Adventure Game: A Cameraman's Tales from Films at the Edge by Keith Partridge
Keith Partridge has been one of the world’s leading adventure cameramen for over twenty years. The award winning Touching the Void, Beckoning Silence and Human Planet are just some of the films that have taken him all over the earth, from the caves of Papua New Guinea to the summit of Mount Everest. No location has been too dangerous, no environment too wild, and if you have ever seen a climber or explorer in some outrageous position, chances are that Keith Partridge was there with his camera. Here Keith discusses the challenges that have faced him in the daring adventures has taken part in, with personalities such as Steve Backshall, Joe Simpson and Stephen Venables. Full review...
Ten Million Aliens by Simon Barnes
I don't want to alarm anyone, but I think it fair to warn you that there are aliens all around us; weird and wonderful ones at that. Take symbions for example. They attach themselves to a host by means of a sucker and propagate by budding. They then move on to the next life stage and become either male or female. The male sheds its mouth and anus and goes of to search for a female. Once the female is impregnated, her digestive system morphs into a larva which breaks free from her when she dies. This may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but the truth is that we share our planet with millions of strange life forms; each perfectly suited to survive and thrive in its own environment. Full review...
The Hunt for the Golden Mole: All Creatures Great and Small and Why They Matter by Richard Girling
At age 15, on a camping trip to Dartmoor, Richard Girling had an epiphany. It was the first time that he had felt himself to be a part of nature, that the environment really mattered to him. As a big picture person, however, this had never translated into an affinity for individual species, even though he became a longstanding environmental writer for the Sunday Times. That is, until he came across a mysterious listing for the Somali golden mole in a mammal encyclopaedia. This creature has never been seen in the wild, except as a few bones in an owl pellet found by an Italian zoologist in 1964. For some reason, the golden mole captured Girling's imagination, becoming a symbol of rarity and the fragility of mammals' existence. Full review...
Born Free Lion Rescue: The True Story of Bella and Simba by Sara Starbuck
Bella was not supposed to be worked as a youngster as a model for holidaymakers' photos on the Black Sea Coast, but that probably happened before she ended up in a poor Romanian zoo, blind in one eye and losing the sight in the other. Simba was not supposed to be shaking his magnificent maned figure about a circus cage in southern France. But she was, and he was, and things weren't right. Luckily, the zoo was too poor to operate, and people were already on hand to relocate the animals, and fortunately someone realised the circus was a no-starter as well, when it comes to keeping a fully-grown lion in captivity. In alternating chapters the two cats' tales eventually combine to one, in this great little read with a heart-warming message. Full review...
Mad About Monkeys by Owen Davey
Of all the many millions of animals on our planet that deserve a large format hardback non-fiction book, I guess monkeys are one of the ideal places to start. They are, of course, our distant cousins, with the ancestor we have in common with them walking around our world within the past thirty million years. They have a large range across the planet, they have over 250 variant species, and they have a lot of interesting facts and details regarding their social life, their diet, their diversity and their potential future – all of which makes this an interesting read whatever your species bias may be. Full review...
Field Guide: Creatures Great and Small (Field Guides) by Lucy Engelman
Call me fuddy-duddy, but I have never seen the need to review a book via video – with Youtube and other sources becoming full of people giving their thoughts about the latest hot release the idea has never appealed to me, when there are also countless ways for one to share opinions by old-fashioned written word. That is, of course, until now, and the phenomenon that is building rapidly – that of mature colouring-in books. Here at the Bookbag we can easily prove we've read every word of the books by being eloquent, informative and opinionated about what we examine, but even I admit four paragraphs regarding a picture book we ourselves have to finish off may leave some members of our audience wanting to see the results. Full review...
Oceans in 30 Seconds by Jen Green and Wesley Robins
Oceans in 30 Seconds is the latest book in the innovative series from Ivy Press, which aims to give an informative and entertaining overview of a given subject in bite-sized chunks. Each given subject has its own two-page spread, with a concise description on the left, covering all of the main points, and a colourful illustration on the right hand page, complete with extra snippets of information. Each chapter also has a handy 3-second sum up, which further condenses the main idea of the chapter into a single sentence. Full review...
Where's the Elephant? by Barroux
We've all had great fun with books such as Where's Wally, haven't we? They appeal to children and adults and everyone who has seen Where's the Elephant? has jumped in with great enthusiasm, keen to show just how observant they are. We start off with a forest - actually it's the Amazon Rainforest - full of glorious colours and our three friends, who are hiding in there. Elephant is probably the easiest to spot, but Snake and Parrot are in there too and with a little concentration you'll find them. When you turn the page you'll scan the trees again and discover their hiding places. You even wonder if it might get a little boring if it goes on like this. Full review...
A Buzz in the Meadow by Dave Goulson
Back in 2003, biologist Dave Goulson bought a run-down farmhouse and 33 acres of meadow in the idyllic French countryside. His aim was to create a sanctuary for all sorts of wildlife, where creatures could go about their business without fear of disturbance. Soon, the meadows were abuzz with activity, with insect species thriving. Birds, mammals and amphibians also colonised this tranquil patch of countryside, including the mysterious 'snake and owl-eating beast' and the elusive 'wack-wack' bird...but if you want to find out more about them, you will have to read the book for yourself. Full review...
Wild Adventures by Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom
When I was growing up, TV only had four channels and games consoles came in the form of the rubber keyed ZX Spectrum. Despite these meagre offerings, we would still spend endless summer hours in the sitting room if our parents had not thrown us outside. In 2015, there are far more TV channels to watch and games come in high fidelity, what chance does nature have against ‘Call of Duty’? You would be surprised, as despite all the creature comforts of the front room, children still want to play outside, all they have to be - is inspired. Full review...
Creaturepedia by Adrienne Barman
Creaturepedia welcomes young readers to the greatest show on earth, showcasing more than 600 different creatures within its pages. Rather than listing the animals in traditional alphabetical order, this book groups creatures according to a variety of criteria, including colour, habits and outstanding physical characteristics. Of course, there is a handy index at the end to keep the traditionalists happy too. There are a few unusual categories thrown in, such as mythical beats and extinct animals, as well as endangered species that sadly, may become extinct very soon Full review...
The Little Book of Garden Bird Song by Andrea Pinnington and Caz Buckingham
Take a well-put-together board book (don't worry about it being a board book - no one is going to suggest that they're a bit too old for that), add exquisite pictures of a dozen birds - one on each double-page spread - and then fill in the details. You'll need the name of the bird in English and Latin and a description of the bird in words which a child can understand but which won't patronise an adult. Then you'll need details of where the bird is found, what it eats, where it nests, how many eggs it lays, how the male and female adults differ and their size. Then you need a 'Did you know?' fact and this needs to be something which will interest children, but which adults might not know either. Does it sound simple? Well it isn't, but 'The Little Book of Garden Bird Song' does it perfectly. And there's a bonus, but I'll tell you about that in a moment. Full review...
H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald
When I saw Helen Macdonald speak at a nature conference, she recounted a conversation with a Samuel Johnson Prize judge. S/he had remarked that Macdonald's was three books in one: a memoir of grief after her father's unexpected death, a biography of T. H. White, and an account of falconry experiments with Mabel the goshawk. Macdonald quipped that the description made her book sound like washing powder, but it's accurate nonetheless, and explains why the book won the Samuel Johnson Prize (the first memoir to do so) and is shortlisted for the Costa Biography award. Full review...
The Magic and Mystery of Birds by Noah Strycker
Sometimes it is easy to overlook the wonder all around us. For example, that scruffy looking starling sitting on your garden fence may look unassuming and commonplace, but type murmuration into the search bar on Youtube and prepare to be mesmerised as a huge flock of the birds perform a gracefully hypnotic aerial ballet which has an almost alien quality. If we take time to stop and look at our feathered friends, we will see that they are anything but ordinary. The bird world is full of unsolved mysteries that humans are only now beginning to unravel: How do pigeons navigate? How do vultures find food? What are penguins afraid of? How do nutcrackers find their hidden food caches? The Magic and Mystery of Birds searches for the answers to these questions, as well as many more, opening our eyes to the hidden world of birds. Full review...
Deadly Pole to Pole Diaries by Steve Backshall
Dear Diary, today I really woke up on the wrong side of the bed. For most people that means waking up in a grumpy mood, but for me it literally means the wrong side of the bed. I stepped straight into a pool full of viscous fish and then I climbed out, only to be chased by a bear. I am either eating too much cheese before I go to bed or partaking on a magnificent journey from Pole to Pole visiting dangerous animals on the way. Full review...
The Snow Leopard (Mini Edition) by Jackie Morris
You probably haven't heard of Mergichans – although if you pronounce it correctly in your head, in connection with spirits and magic, you will work out what they are. One of them is the totem, if you like, of a hidden Himalayan valley, and she is in the form of a snow leopard, singing existence as she sees fit and protecting the Shangri-La type location. But she cannot protect it from all-comers, least of all when she's trying to sing to find a successor. Mergichans do not have it all their own way… Full review...
Life on Air by David Attenborough
I was one of the generation who grew up when David Attenborough was a giant among presenters of wildlife programmes on television, and anything with his name attached was a must-watch. At the time, I had no idea that he was also one of the pivotal characters in the development of broadcasting, having been controller of BBC2 and director of programming for BBC TV for several years. These days, he is probably best remembered for writing and presenting the nine ‘Life’ series, a comprehensive survey of all life on the planet. Full review...
Mad About Mega Beasts! by Giles Andreae and David Wojtowycz (Illustrator)
When I was small I was fascinated with things that were big; big buildings, big vehicles, big animals. However, I have recently learnt that there is a size that is bigger than big – mega. What beasts, both from now and from the past, are large enough to achieve this accolade and be welcomed into the hallowed pages of this book? Full review...
Four Fields by Tim Dee
If asked to name, or even think of, four fields, the common man might well struggle, such is the chance of him living in a city. He might not think of the local park as a field, and he may turn to the field of the cloth of gold if a historian, the field of dreams perhaps, or he might at least have something looking like a football pitch in his mind's eye. Tim Dee, not a nature scientist as such but so in tune with the outside world he really doesn't seem to have stopped indoors but to write this book in the past decade, seems like the sort of person who could hardly name four buildings, but would relish the chance to itemise his favourite fields. He is very doubtful any two in Britain are the same. Like snowflakes, then, they can bear a closer examination to show their full picture – and Dee picks on four, across the world and noted for events across the last few thousand years, to focus on. The result is a rich – if at times over-rich – summation of the birdlife above the fields, and everything Dee knows and loves about them. Full review...
Animal Lives: Lions by Sally Morgan
Lions is part of the wonderful Animal Lives series, each focusing on a particular animal from the African savannah. This time, the king of the beasts takes centre stage, in a book that mixes stunning photography with plenty of fascinating facts and figures. Full review...
Animal Lives: Giraffes by Sally Morgan
The new Animal Lives series of picture books aims to help young children become animal experts, with each book focusing on a different wild animal. The current series looks at animals of the African savannah and this time it is the turn of the noble giraffe to take centre stage. Full review...
Animal Lives: Elephants by Sally Morgan
The eye-catching image on the cover of this glossy picture book certainly encourages young readers to pick it up and start reading. Two cute baby elephants gaze confidently into the camera lens whilst sharing a trunkful of lush green vegetation. There is just something about baby elephants, isn't there? Who could resist opening the book for a closer look? Full review...
Animal Lives: Cheetahs by Sally Morgan
The first thing that struck me about this book was the excellent use of visuals. Most of the photographs in the book are for a double page spread. The images are crisp and clear and provide a great close-up view of these beautiful cats. Using the photograph as a centrepiece, each two-page section examines a different aspect of cheetah behaviour. Subjects covered include growing up, hunting, territory and cheetahs under threat. The sections have a brief introductory paragraph in large, bold print and then several smaller facts surround the main picture, sometimes including smaller photographs to illustrate the main points. Full review...
