If the World were 100 Animals by Miranda Smith illustrated by Aaron Cushley

Here we go again - another groundbreaking fantastic nonfiction book with an idea that is fresh and original and so appealing. This is a book that is certainly going to spark the curiosity of your young reading companion or class of students. AND as a bonus, if you work with a group of older students, do take time to look at the very extensive reference list included at the beginning of this book - this could be such a brilliant way to talk about referencing and using websites with the right level of authority and also the importance of deep research. You will see websites such as CSIRO, Save the Koala, UNESCO, National Geographic and World Wildlife Fund.

There are 20,000,000,000,000,000,000 or 20 quintillion or 20 billion billion individual animals on earth but if you think of this as just 100 then ... 

6 are vertebrates; 94 are invertebrates = 100

Let's look at the vertebrates 23 are birds; 11 are amphibians; 9 are mammals; 14 are reptiles; and 43 are fish = 100

Drill down further to the Mammals 94 are placental; 5 are marsupials; 1 is a monotreme = 100

YES, those Monotremes are ours - one platypus and four species of echidna.

And what about pets? 33 are dogs; 6 are birds; 23 are cats; 12 are fish; 26 are other animals = 100

Image source: Bookwagon

Other topics explored in this book are deadly animals (81 are mosquitoes); extinct animals (90 are extinct); animals in danger (54 are fish) and the final double spread explores the big questions.

Big Questions:

• What can we do to stop the animals' habitats and ecosystems being destroyed?
• What can we do to reduce our use of plastic and recycle plastic that already exists?
• How do we make people think about the connections between animals and the food on their plates?

Now for the really amazing news - this book from 2022 is only AUS$20. It is a book that should be added to every school and public library. If the World were 100 Animals is also a NSW Premier's Reading challenge title Years 3-4 (903350). Make sure you spend time exploring all the animals on the end papers. 

Other books by Miranda Smith and books illustrated by Aaron Cushley (he is from Belfast) from this series:

Due for publication in November, 2023