Review: How Animals Build from Lonely Planet

HOW ANIMALS BUILD

by Moira Butterfield

Illustrated by Tim Hutchinson

Lonely Planet

Picture Book Non-Fiction

24 pages

ages 4 and up

The North & Latin American edition of this title is available here.

Lonely Planet Kids’ How Animals Build is a beautifully illustrated lift-the-flap hardback that explores the incredible world of animal architects. Children can open flaps and unfold spreads to discover amazing animal homes up high, underground, on land, and under the sea. From spider webs and rabbit warrens, to bird nests and ant colonies, and even coral reefs and beaver lodges, we reveal the secrets to these extraordinary structures and how they’re built.

Do bees need cement mixers to build hives? Do beavers use cranes to construct dams? No, of course not! Like many animals, they’re building geniuses who don’t need building site tools to create incredible work. Welcome to nature’s very own, super-clever world of construction.

Created in consultation with Michael Leach, wildlife author, speaker, photographer, and filmographer. Michael is the author of over 20 books on subjects ranging fromm big cats and owls to great apes and bears.

Themed topics include:

 Apartment Block with Branches

• Dig, Diggers, Dig!
• Number 1 Bunny Street
• A Winning Design
• It’s Buzzing in Here!
• Nest Neighborhoods
• This Way to Waterworld
• Extreme Builders
• Mouse House Here

MY TIDBITS

Every page of this one is packed full of interesting information and guarantees to suck in information hungry, animal loving kids for hours.

Every animal needs a home, and the variety is almost as vast as the imagination. While some animals keep it simple, others are genuine architects with a touch of genius. From birds, to mice, and even underwater creatures, this book covers a vast array of examples from the animal kingdom and is sure to hold a surprise or two.

The second this book is open, it's clear that the reader is in for a treat. Not only are animals from every corner of the globe, even lesser known ones, mentioned in these pages, but each home is presented through colorful illustrations with many secret doors, which lead to even more interesting tidbits. Not only is it exciting to see what animals and homes are up next, but the various possibilities to open up some homes to large scale, while peeking in the holes of other corners and crannies, makes it a delight to visit again and again.

With all of its fun, this isn't a book for the youngest readers but more suiting ages six and up. The text, while whimsically placed and holding a vocabulary great for the age group, is something for a larger attention span. This isn't a book a reader can devour in one sitting. At least, not while absorbing all of the information. There's simply too much for that. This is the kind of book readers will visit time and again to discover new information or notice things they skimmed past before. And the information is interesting—even for adults. There are enough less known facts to guarantee that something new is to be found for almost every reader.

This is a book of pure discovery and the sheer enjoyment of finding more, and is sure to draw kids back into the pages again and again.