Rakali of the Riverbank by Stephanie Owen Reeder illustrated by Rachel Gregg

Just when you thought you had heard of every possible animal in Australia another one pops up. Of course we all know our platypus, another amphibious mammal, but what about the rakali? He is our largest native rodent. A rodent is an animal with strong incisor teeth for gnawing food. 

Bookseller blurb: Explore the night with Rakali as he hunts for food, patrols the riverbank and dodges threats. As the sun sets, Rakali prepares to patrol the riverbank. He is on a mission to fill his belly, protect his pups and keep his home safe. But he must face feral foxes, disease-carrying black rats and toxic cane toads. Will he make it safely back to his burrow before the sun rises? Rakali of the Riverbank is an engaging look at a night in the life of an Australian native water rat, and the challenges that these unique and charming creatures face.

This is another triumph for Stephanie Owen Reeder and, of course, CSIRO Publishing. Just so Stories

POST UPDAE: The rakali has won Australia's most Underrated Animal for 2025. 65,000 people voted over 15 days and the results ended in a list of ten - with the rakali declared winner. 

Things I learned from reading this book:

• The rakali is one of Australia’s only mammals to safely enjoy a meal of the highly toxic cane toad. Intelligent and resourceful, the water rat flips the toad over to avoid the poisonous glands found on the back of the toad’s neck and uses surgical-like precision to neatly remove the heart, liver, and toxic gall bladder before eating the rest.
• The rakali is one of only two amphibious mammals in Australia. The other is the platypus.
• They are also known as a golden-bellied water mouse or native water rat.
• Rakalis grow up to 60 cm long. Being the largest rat in Australia, they are useful to have around as they actually fight off introduced rats. You can tell them apart from introduced rats by their pale belly, mass of whiskers and the white tip on the end of their tail.
• The name rakali comes from the Ngarrindjeri people of the Murray River in South Australia. 
• They live beside estuaries, creeks, rivers, lakes and wetlands.
• The female cares for two to four young while the male patrols his territory. He sleeps in a separate burrow. 
• The scientific name is Hydromys chrysogaster
• Waterproof fur that dries quickly once on land.
• Elongated body shape which is perfectly adapted to glide through the water.
• Small ears that can be folded against its head and whiskers that surround the face, which are highly sensitive and help it to forage underwater at night.
• Partially webbed hind feet.
• Can grow up to 70 cm in length from nose to tip of the tail and weigh a little over a kilogram (about the size of an adult platypus).

Further reading:

• Backyard Buddies
• Australian Geographic
• inaturalist (great photos)

Image source: Ballarat Times

The format of this book is similar to the splendid Nature Storybooks (formerly called Read and Wonder). The main pages contain a narrative where we meet Rakali and see him hunting and protecting his territory and then on the final four pages you can read all about this curious animal and use the glossary to explore unfamiliar words. You can download the teachers notes here. 

The text in this book does give you all the facts about this little creature but it is expressed with very lyrical language:

Rakail's golden belly gleams as rays of light kiss the river goodnight.
A cape of ripples flows out behind him.

He charges at the toxic toad, sending the started creature sprawling on its back.

Moon shadows dance and a cool breeze ruffles his soggy fur.

And there are some fabulous words to explore with your reading companion such as hunkering, lurks, consume, humungous, abandoned, and gravelly sand.

Let's think for a moment about rodents - this could be a fabulous mini topic in your library. Some of my own favourite animals are rodents - the beaver; the capybara; the guinea pig; hamster; vole; squirrel; and porcupine. I also discovered there is a rodent called a kangaroo rat but this creature is not even Australian! It lives in North America. In Australia we have or have had at one time 57 different Australian rodents - I was utterly amazed to discover this.

Huge thanks to CSIRO Publishing for sending me a copy of this book. It was published just yesterday so it will be easy to find in your local bookstore. If your school buys a standing order of new titles this book will be included. You are sure to enjoy sharing this book with your youngest readers in your school library. I would begin my reading by talking about animal heroes - the rakali is a hero in my view because he is helping, in his own small way, with the elimination of those dreadful cane toads. 

Dr Stephanie Owen Reeder is the author of over 20 historical and environmental books for children, including Swifty and Sensational Australian Animals. She has won both the CBCA Book of the Year Award and the NSW Premier’s History Award.

Here is the list from Science week of the top ten most underrated animals from Australia - how many do you know?

1.Rakali

2.Palm cockatoo

3.Giant cuttlefish

4.Dugong

5.Marsupial mole

6.Turtle frog

7.Velvet worm

8.Great desert skink

9.Ghost bat

10.Short-finned eel

This Bird: Noticing our urban birds by Astred Hicks and Dr Holly Parsons

"This book is for curious people who like to look around them and find out more. Bird noticing is a lovely way to connect with nature and the world around us."

In the introduction to this book you might recognise the names three birds you have seen in other books - the bar-tailed godwit (Jeannie Baker Circle); the satin bowerbird (Bowerbird Blues and sequels by Aura Parker) and the powerful owl (Apollo the Powerful Owl by Gordon Winch).

Almost one hundred Australian birds are explored in this book with twenty-six explored in detail. Here are some of the page headings which are sure to make you curious:

• This bird looks different from its partner
• This bird plays hide and seek
• This bird flies marathons
• This bird is a moonlight wailer
• This bird walks on water
• This bird is cheeky
• This bird is a swimmer
• This bird is a hoverer
• This bird is 'shellfish'
• This bird is gregarious
• This bird has a red butt
• This bird eats with a spoon
• This bird is more than an angler
• This bird is an artist
• This bird is a liar
• This bird is a master of disguise
• This bird has a sweet tooth
• This bird is a cruncher

On the back end paper you could play a game with your young reading companion of name that bird. I also like the way there are small symbols on each page that you use to identify the type of bird such as grassland bird, seabird, wader or raptor. Did you know the name for a bird who eats fish is a piscivore and one that eats seeds is a granivore? As with all good nonfiction this book also has a detailed index and glossary. In a classroom it would be interesting to focus on one double page each week and use the information as a jumping off point to discover even more about each urban bird and you could do a search for an audio file to hear the call of your focus bird. Perhaps your students could also do some birdwatching in their local area and you could make a class book of your discoveries. Have you discovered the ABC Radio National Tweet of the Week where listeners identify birds from their calls - it is such a fun little treat each week. 

There are teachers notes available on the publisher webpage. If you purchase a library standing order this book is sure to be included. I also expect to see this book listed as a 2026 CBCA Eve Pownall notable title. 

Our Australian birds do have very special features but I also love some of their names: bellbird, gang-gang cookatoo, noisy friarbird, grey goshawke, mistletoebird, pied oystercatcher, royal spoonbill, and of course the willie wagtail. Another bird that I find so curious is the Tawny Frogmouth. Take a look at this photo of a spotted pardalote - then you could compare the photo with the excellent illustration by Astred Hicks and with this one from Bridget Farmer:

The Bush Birds - Spotted Pardalote

After reading this book I hope one day to see a comb-crested jacana; a purple swamphen; and a red-rumped parrot!

Huge thanks to CSIRO Publishing for my advance copy of This Bird. It will be published on 1st August 2025 but I suggest you pop this on your shopping list or library wish list now. 

Gleebooks Kids

There are some fantastic books available for our children about birds but they are not always about our unique Australian birds. I lived in Canada (my favourite bird there was the loon) some years ago and one of the things that surprised me was the way I missed the familiar sounds of our birds. Where I live now there is a colony of kookaburras and their laugh makes me smile every time I hear them nearby or have the thrill of seeing one on my balcony. When I walk in a bush area close by, I often hear the eastern whip bird calling to their partner. Out of interest I 'Googled' birds around the lagoon near my home and I found this astonishing list. Here is one of my own local favourites:

Masked Lapwing Image source: Birds of Australia

I like this photo because it shows two of these birds 

and when I see them near the lagoon they are always together as a pair. 

And I read that when you see two like this it is usually a male and a female.

They are sometimes called a Spur-wing Plover

You can hear their distinct call here.

Companion books to read alongside This Bird:

The Bush Birds and look for the second in this series The Beach Birds

The art in these two books is truly special.

Australian Backyard Birdies is so funny and yet it also contains scientific information

Your art lesson could involve painting or creating pictures of our Australian native birds. If you have any of the books I have mentioned in this post you could compare the illustration styles. 

In 2015 I joined a bird watching tour of Shetland and Fair Isle. I am not a bird watcher but the enthusiasm and deep knowledge of our two guides was inspirational and that shines through with the author of this book Dr Holly Parsons. Watch this 2015 video from Gardening Australia where Holly talks about birds in our gardens. You can find Astred Hicks on Instagram.

We are so lucky to have a publisher like CSIRO Publishing. They source experts in their field and pair them with hugely talented authors and illustrators. Every school and public library should have a collection of their titles. Take a look at this post from my friend at Kinderbookswitheverything. Here are a few I have read in recent years:

On the trail of the Plains Wanderer

The Forgotten Song

Our World full of Wonder

Where are all the Christmas Beetles?

Secrets of the Saltmarsh

Except Antarctica! by Todd Sturgell

You need to add this book to your school library. It is a perfect text for all your science units about animals, animal classification and habitats plus it is SO funny. The only question you might have to ask yourself is just where to shelve this book? Is it just a picture book about a crazy turtle who sets out to disprove the theory that turtles live on every continent except antarctica? Well yes. Turtle gathers all his friends, who also apparently do not live in Antarctica, and the team set off to check this out for themselves. So far this could just be a funny romp, a story, but the final pages - eight of them - are filled with animal facts - like a non-fiction book. Oh, and the end papers are world maps and a useful map of Antarctica showing all the research stations.

The swiftly rising, maniacal tone is highlighted by different, boldfaced types assigned to the narrator and the animals. Vivid, wildly imaginative illustrations add wonder and excitement to the proceedings. Readers will laugh out loud at the animals’ recalcitrance and the narrator’s frustrations, all the while absorbing a great deal of information. Delightful and hilarious. Kirkus Star review

This nature-documentary-gone-wrong is a gleefully funny lesson in determination, and includes educational backmatter and lots of animal fun facts! Penguin Books

Now think about the animals that travel with our hero - an owl, a dung beetle, a snake, a mouse, a bee, and a frog. Yes nearly every animal group is covered - birds, insects, reptiles, mammals, and amphibians. Only one group is missing - can your readers work this out and then can they talk about why.

Here are a few fun facts from the final pages in this book:

• The oldest turtle in the world lived to be 255 and was named Adwaita.
• Burrowing owls love to eat dung beetles.
• Dung beetles navigate using the Milky Way.
• Snakes smell with their tongues.
• Bees love the colour blue.
• Mice eat fifteen to twenty times a day.
• Frogs were the first land animals with vocal cords.

Except Antarctica was published in 2021. It is still available and I found a copy for a good price but you might need to act quickly because I imagine their stock might be limited. Here are a set of teaching ideas from the publisher. 

This book is also an example of breaking the fourth wall - you will hear the voice of the off stage narrator trying to advise the turtle his mission is impossible. 

Here are some companion books:

Todd Sturgell is an illustrator, author, and freelance art & creative director. In his previous career as a corporate advertising art director, he worked with national brands including The Home Depot, Hyundai, Red Lobster, and 7-11; in his current role, he focuses on local and regional clients including universities, museums, and music, food, arts, and wine festivals. He lives, hikes, draws, and watches nature documentaries in the North Carolina Mountains with his wife, daughters, and dog Max (named for a certain famous picture book character). He has not yet been to Antarctica.

Tree Hole Homes by Melissa Stewart illustrated by Amy Hevron

The subtitle of this book is 'Daytime dens and Nighttime Nooks'

Publisher blurb: Imagine this: one day you’re walking through the woods and spot a tree hole large enough to slip inside. So you do. And you wonder, what kind of creature lived here? In this science and nature-themed picture book, nonfiction expert Melissa Stewart and illustrator Amy Hevron offer up an inviting peek into the secret world of tree hole dwellers. From black bears to tree frogs and bobcats, it’s surprising just who you’ll find! A main text gives general information about tree holes (“a treehole can be a daytime den”) and a secondary text provides more detail. This inviting look at trees, tree holes, and fascinating animals is sure to be a classroom and kid favorite.

Who lives in the hollow of a tree? You might think of the owl, squirrel, a bat, sugar glider or a bird but I imagine you don't know about these:

• Liberian Tree Hole Crab
• Black Spiny-tailed iguana
• Fisher
• Deer Mouse
• Black Capped Chickadee (bird)
• Raccoon
• Brown Bear

I think the Deer Mouse surprised me the most because I didn't know they were real! The main character of Poppy and the sequels by Avi is a deer mouse - I thought this was just a made up creature. Thanks to this fabulous book I now know they are tiny creatures 8-10cm, living in woodlands, grasslands and deserts in North America. They only live for about a year and the like to eat insects, seeds, fruits, fungi and nuts.

I also did not know much about the fisher which is an animal that looks a little like a cat. They are 90-120cm and live in the forests of North America and Canada. They live up to ten years and eat snowshoe hares, porcupines, squirrels, mice and birds.

Tree Hole Homes was published in 2022. It comes from the US but it does contain one Australian animal - the sugar glider which lives in Eastern Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. This is a book that is sure to spark curiosity in your young reading companion or young library user. Melissa Stewart has a wealth of wonderful non fiction books on her webpage. Exploring tree hollows could be a terrific science topic or mini theme in your library. Perhaps you might be lucky and find a tree with a hollow in your own area or school playground. 

Companion books:

Life in a Hollow

I can see Nature's Rainbow by Vicky Woodgate

 

"Some creatures use colour to camouflage themselves, others to send a warning or to attract a mate. While plants can't talk, their colours are often designed to say 'Eat me!' to animals. From red monkeys and white whales to green sloths and purple snails, discover the amazing rainbow world we are so lucky to live in."

This book is from the UK, but it does contain animals from around the world including our Australian Quokka and Kangaroo. I think this book would be a popular one in your school or preschool library - I imagine it might have been offered on Scholastic Book Club in 2023 as they are the publisher. 

A few discoveries from this book:

Blue - Blue Tang (fish) change colour depending on their mood; No land mammals are completely blue but some have blue faces such as the Golden Snub-nosed monkey; Blue Whales eat up to 40 million kril each day.

Green - The (green) Northern Birdwing butterfly can measure more than 22cm; a green toadstool is the Parrot Waxcap; algae grow on the fur of the sloth turning it green.

Brown - The ring-tailed cat is a cousin of the racoon; Brown bears can outrun a horse.

Red - Red foxes have whiskers on their legs and retractable claws; a very poisonous plant is the Bleeding Heart.

Purple - I had not heard of the Purple Frog, Purple Lubber Grasshopper, Purple Martin (bird) or the Lilac-Breasted Roller (bird).

Image source: Project Noah

Pink - I'd love to see a pink-spotted Lady Beetle. 

Orange - The Zombie Frog is orange; and so is the Baboon Tarantula.

Yellow - this page includes a flower I always associate with a book - the Black-eyed Susan; the yellow in the eye of a lion helps it see better at night.

White - Mute Swan; Dwarf Hotot Rabbit; Snow Petrel; Giant Leopard Moth; Beluga Whale.

Grey - the collective noun for mushrooms is a troop; you need to know I am frightened of Geckos and now I discover one called a Grey Gargoyle Gecko.

Black - Polar bears have black skin; I like the name Chimney Sweeper Moth; the Dracula Orchid.

Chimney Sweeper Moth image source: Stewkley Wildlife Reserve

My favourite page in this book is near the end - it is filled with rocks and minerals of every colour. There is a full index and a page of projects at the back too.

Here is the web page for Vicky Woodgate.

Despite only having 32 pages, I Can See Nature’s Rainbow, is absolutely full to the brim with images and words explaining how diverse things are in the natural world. This will appeal to inquisitive children, in early years and KS1, who prefer information books. Just Imagine

Willodeen by Katherine Applegate illustrated by Charles Santoso

Willodeen's mother, father and younger brother have been killed in a fierce fire. Willodeen now lives with two elderly ladies from the village - Mae and Birdie. They are kind and loving and they share their quiet wisdom with Willodeen while also giving her freedom to be herself.

The village of Perchance is a special place because every year hummingbears arrive to nest in unique trees found near the town - blue willow trees. Their nests are made using the leaves from these trees. The hummingbears chew the willow leaves and blow bubbles which they then stack into nests. Doesn't this sound magical. People come from far and wide to visit Perchance each year to see these small winged creatures and their nests and during this time the villages hold markets and fairs. This is their main source of income.

BUT (you knew there would be a but) there is another creature that lives in this area - screechers. Yes they do make a dreadful screeching noise, but worse than that, they spray a dreadful smell:

"The smell is hard to describe. Put a hundred rotten eggs in your mind. Then add some scoops of dead fish and a splash of skunk spray. You'll have a general sense of things."

Unfortunately a tourist has fallen victim to this dreadful stench and so the town council have offered a bounty for every screecher that is killed. Now go back and think about the balance of nature. The sceechers are nearly all gone, very few hummingbears have arrived, wildfires are more prevalent, and this year the village won't make any money from the visiting tourists. 

Willodeen cares for a small hummingbear with damaged wings which she names Duuzuu. She also acquires, in a slightly magical way, a baby screecher which she names Quinby. Willodeen is a scientist. She observes the behaviour of screechers and of course she knows, because of the bounty the screechers are nearly all gone. This year no hummingbears have arrived. She also notices Quinby loves one special food - peacock snails and peacock snails live under the roots of those blue willow trees. With all the hunting of the screechers, nature is out of balance but can Willodeen convince the council that she has solved this problem and that they need to stop killing the screechers. screechers, humingbears, willow trees and peacock snails are all connected. 

Willodeen has a wonderful friend in a boy named Connor. He is clever with crafts. He actually made a model screecher as a birthday gift for Willodeen not knowing Willodeen's tears would have a magical effect.

I have had this book on my to buy/to read list since I first saw it in 2021. The publishing industry is a mystery to me. The US hardcover edition of this book costs AUS$36 which was way beyond my personal book budget. Now the UK have published copy in paperback and it has arrived here in Australia for only AUS$15. The US publisher is Macmillan but luckily for readers in Australia this book has been found by Welbeck Flame from London. AND also luckily the cover was not changed because, apart from the wonderful author Katherine Applegate, it was the cover that first attracted me to this book. When you buy or borrow this book make sure you take time to read the quote from Greta Thuberg - you could use this as a way to introduce this book to your students. 

When I was a child my family used to rent a tiny garage sized holiday house. The house, as is often the way, had an odd and old collection of books on their shelves. One I read around age 12 was Silent Spring by Rachel Carson. All through Willodeen I kept thinking about the way nature is in a fine balance and the way Rachel Carson alerted the world to the ramifications of our human actions on animals, plants and habitats.  These are the huge themes explored in this book but they are explored in a way that is very accessible for younger readers aged 8+. 

Here is a delightful video where Katherine Applegate talks about Willodeeen.

The young folk and (of course) the animals are engagingly wrought in this tale with a strong ecological message. Kirkus

Katherine Applegate is the author of The One and Only Ivan and many other wonderful books including Odder and the book I recommend highly to everyone - Wishtree. You should also add her Endling series to your reading pile. 

Kind: A call to care for every creature by Jess McGeachin

"In this book you'll find

Many kinds of things

Some have slippery scales

Some have feathered wings

But kind is more than type

Kind is how to care

For creatures that you meet

And places that we share"

Kind is a truly special book. It is in part a rhyming narrative and in part a non fiction catalogue of animals. The layout of white text page and bold colour background on each animal group works really well to showcase all the variety of creatures found in the animal kingdom. Jess McGeachin has covered the main animal groups: Mammals, Reptiles, Amphibians, Birds, Insects, and Fish. It is easy to see he works in a museum. A great deal of care has been taken with the scientific-style illustrations and the book design is excellent too, with the yellow illustrated spine and the end papers.

The rhyme is strong and consistent, the cover is tactile and inviting, and I really appreciated the final pages which flip the word kind to mean kindness to towards others and self.  I did wish this book had back matter but I guess young readers could use it as a jumping off point to research or discover more about the animal names that sound so interesting for example I would like to know more about many of the horned animals such as Gerenuk; Blesbok; Klipspringer; and Greater Kudu.

Although this is not a story there are many elements that make it both a picture book and a non fiction text. There is a very strong sense of place which is different on each and every spread – from sandy shores, coral reefs and deep ocean depths, to grassland, wetlands and red desert. 

The ‘characters’ of the different animals themselves are diverse and convincing, but there is also a sense of character in the narrative voice – a gentle commanding tone, use of second person pronouns to draw the readers in - and also in the child in the forest who opens and closes the book. Repetition of the phrase "Be kind to those ... " has a beautiful rhythm when the text is read aloud.

The word choices in this book are perfect:

"Be kind to those who weave they knit and knot with ease a home in silver silk dancing on the breeze."

"Be kind to those with find as they dart below the reef. A symphony of colours beyond the eyes' belief."

"Be kind to those who wake while others start to yawn. A parliament is sitting before the break of dawn."

This book is a very clever weaving together creatures from the natural world with the concept of kindness. The illustrations and design are bold and engaging. There would be lots to discuss with a class about the meaning and choice of the title. There are lots of details to pour over on each page - rather like looking at an animal catalogue. This is wide-ranging book that takes the reader out from a central anchor of interpreting the nature of what kindness means in different contexts and settings. 

Kind has been listed as a CBCA 2023 Eve Pownall (Non Fiction) Notable book. Another book by Jess McGeachin - Deep also made this list and then went on to be selected for the shortlist of six. 

Is this Panama? by Jan Thornhill illustrated by Soyeon Kim

Sammy, the young Wilson's warbler, knows it is time to make his first migration to Panama. The problem is he does not know the way and the other birds seem to have already left. In the style of "Are you my mother" Sammy asks everyone he meets if they can help him. He talks with a ptarmigan;a caribou; a flock of sandhill cranes; a garter snake; some green darner dragonflies; and luckily some other warblers.  Did you know there are many kinds of warblers. They are all shown on the end papers. You will see the Black-Throated Warbler; the Bay-Breasted Warbler; the Hooded Warbler; the Magnolia Warbler; and our hero the Wilson's Warbler.

Sammy finds the other warblers but he is only half way to Panama. His new friends explain the way they follow the stars at night but in cities lights on buildings can be a dangerous hazard. Sammy crashes but after a rest he carries on with his journey but once again he is alone. Luckily he meets some beautiful Monarch butterflies.  Next he meets a godwit.  This is the bird which features in Circle by Jeannie Baker. The godwits fly fast and do not take beaks. Sammy falls from the sky on to a migrating humpback whale. He is able to finally hitch a ride to Mexico and eventually he makes it all the way to Panama.

This book is a combination of narrative and science non fiction. I have mentioned Canadian illustrator Soyeon Kim in a previous post. It is clear she has done extensive research to create the scrumptious illustrations in this very special book.On the final pages Jan Thornhill gives readers extra information about each of the animals found in her book along with a map facts about the ways animals migrate. Take a look at this review in Quill and Quire. Read this post about Narrative Non Fiction by Melissa Stewart.

In a previous post I talked about The Sea Swallow and the Humpback Whale and Wild is the Wind. I picked these up in my favourite school library and the timing was perfect. A colleague in a local school asked me for text ideas to pair with Circle by Jeannie Baker.

You may already have these books about bird migration - now here is another to add to your library shelves. The exquisitely illustrated - Is this Panama? A paperback version is now available (ISBN 9781771474474 ).

As I finish off this post I will mention one of my all time favourite books which by chance also mentions Panama.  I know I use the phrase "one of my all time favourite books" quite often but after 35 years of reading children's books I have certainly gathered some wonderful treasures. The Trip to Panama by Janosch is not a migration story but it does involve a journey.  You could use this book as part of a mapping unit with young children. Both mapping the journey in the story and finding Panama on the world map.

Over and Under in the Rainforest by Kate Messner illustrated by Christopher Silas Neal

"At the base of a bridge, an orb spider weaver her web - 

a golden tapestry that will catch moonlight and insects tonight."

It is so wonderful when you make new discoveries about our world and the animals who share our planet though a glorious picture book or in this case Picture Non Fiction. Take a look at this article "Criteria for selecting nonfiction picture books."

There are twenty animals from the rainforest in this large format book. I knew or had heard of creatures such as leaf-cutter ants; three toed sloth; giant anteater; howler monkey and the famous toucan. But here are the others that are new to me.  I am so glad Kate Messner included some facts at the back of her book which I have now used as a starting point to discover even more. Read more here.

Montezuma Otopendola - this is a bird with a very distinctive nest shaped like a droopy sack

Long-nosed Proboscis Bat - they roost in trees, all in a line

Blue Morphos are among the biggest butterflies in the world with a 20cm wingspan. 

Eyelash Palm Pitviper is a small viper measuring 22-32cm. The name comes from modified scales that look like eyelashes. This viper comes in different colours  - red, yellow, brown, green and even pink.

Rufous Motmot are easy to spot because Kate Messner explains, their tails look like tennis rackets.

This is the fourth book in the nature series by Kate Messner illustrated by Chistopher Silas Neal. Kate first visited the rainforest of Costa Rica when she was in third grade on a school excursion.  Doesn't that sound amazing. Then she went back in 2010 with her family and again in 2017 partly to research this book but also to see all of these special animals again.

Part outdoor adventure, part animal nonfiction book, this exciting blend will delight children interested in fact and fiction. Kirkus

Blurb: "Under the canopy of the rainforest, hundreds of animals make their homes - from the slender parrot snake to the blue morpho butterfly. But up in the leaves hides another world, where toucans and pale-billed woodpeckers chatter and call, capuchin monkeys swing from vines, and slow-moving sloths wait out daily thunderstorms. Discover the wonder that lies hidden among the roots, above the winding rivers, and under the emerald leaves of the rainforest."