What is one thing every animal has in common? They all start as a baby!
We begin this book with pictures of eggs. The aqua-coloured Glossy Ibis egg. The spotty Roseate egg. The Corroboree Frog egg with a wriggly little tadpole inside. Eggs can look so different depending on who laid them. Then we learn the meaning of some words we might not know: clutch, endemic, litter, gestation and weaning, among others. Onto classification. How animals are placed into two main groups – vertebrates and invertebrates, and who belongs to which and why. But in this book animals are classified by their biome – where they spend their time, either as a baby or as an adult.
We learn about the endangered Kangaroo Island Echidna who ‘lays a single egg and rolls it into her pouch’. The puggle hatches 10 days later and spends around 50 days inside the pouch. A female Australian Golden Orb-Weaver will only produce one egg sac in her life. But, it will be packed with 300 eggs! The spiderlings only hang around a few days before scampering off to make their own magical webs. Greater Bilbys have backward-facing pouches. They mostly have two babies at a time who stay in the pouch for around 80 days. Gang-Gang cockatoos roost together with parents forming a type of ‘daycare’ watching chicks while other parents fly off to find food.
Jess Racklyeft is such a talent. This book is so well designed. It has just the right amount of interesting information that’s easy to digest and engage with, leaving us wanting to read more. This is combined with colourful illustrations that are so full of personality. Perfectly balanced.
Reviewed by Jane Stephens
Age Guide 3+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ABOUT THE AUTHORJess Racklyeft is an author and illustrator based in Fitzroy, Melbourne. From her home studio, Jess creates original paintings and prints for greeting card companies and various clients. But her favourite work of all is producing children’s books! Jess has authored and illustrated several picture books and board books and has won several awards, including a CBCA Award.
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