Together by Isabel Otter illustrated by Clover Robin

Here is another book illustrated by my newest favourite illustrator (this changes every week) Clover Robin. I have previously talked about two books by Isabel Otter - I am a Fish; and Dear Earth. 

The subtitle of Together is: 

Animal partnerships in the wild

Blurb: Follow a flock of cranes on a migration by land and sea, and find out how animals forge unlikely partnerships to help each other in the wild. Simple haiku poems and fascinating facts give a powerful message of togetherness.

Here are a couple of examples of the haiku:

A vast migration.

Cranes take turns to lead their flock:

The feathered arrow.

The crocodile smiles.

Plover hops in for a snack,

Pecking the fangs clean. 

On each page there is also a small section of factual text which expands and explains the animal partnership. Cranes fly in flocks for thousands of miles and as each leader tires a new bird takes their place. Chamois live in herds and one member always keeps a look out for predators. The remora fish nibble parasites on the skin of sharks. The honey badger uses the song of honey guide bird to find a sweet treat which is them shared. Plover birds eat leftovers from inside the mouths of crocodiles. 

As you turn each page you will see the migrating cranes revealed through clever die cuts. Look closely at the cover at the top of this post and at the illustration above. 

Little Goose's Autumn by Elli Woollard illustrated by Briony May Smith

"And one apple-red, dappled-red, breeze-blown day, 

When the goose went down to the lakeside to play,

She felt in her heart a sharp tugging pain,

Like a strange kind of longing she couldn't explain."

A little goose feels a tug at her heart but what does it mean? She knows it is now autumn so she sets off to ask the other forest animals. The beavers are chopping wood, the squirrels are gathering acorns and the bears are preparing their den for their winter sleep.

It is Autumn here in Australia so this is the prefect book to share with your young reading companion. And yes it is fairly new (2020) so it is available. I am happy to report that the rhyme used in this book works really well (sadly this is not always the case). 

See inside this book here.

I have talked about other Animal Migration and Bird Migration books on this blog. The perfect companion read to go with Little Goose's Autumn would be Lucy Goosey by Margaret Wild illustrated by Ann James.

Here is the companion volume by Elli Woollard and Briony May Smith:

The Sea Swallow and the Humpback Whale by Catherine Barr and Gerry Turley

Begin with the scrumptious end papers - birds flying across the page at the front and a majestic whale with her calf at the back. In this illustrated non fiction book you will read about the journey of the humpback whale and the arctic tern. The whale travels 5000km or 10,000km for the round trip and then in the warmer waters she gives birth to her calf. But the Tern flies even further - "in her lifetime, the Arctic tern will travel the distance of three trips to the moon and back!"

On the final pages you can see a map of their journeys.

Recently a teaching colleague asked me to suggest books about animal migration for her Grade 2 classes to read alongside Circle by Jeannie Baker.  In a serendipitous moment I saw this book at another school library this week - perfect!

Here are some text examples which show the lyricism of this writing:

"A polar bear turns his shaggy white head to look up."

"The ragged silhouette of a whale's tail disappeared below the sea's surface."

"Thrown sideways by fierce, icy gusts, the tiny bird struggles to lift herself out of danger. She swoops and sinks in the sky, flying perilously close to the waves."

The Sea Swallow and the Humpback Whale is an essential purchase for Primary school libraries. It is beautifully designed and available for a reasonable price.  Take a look here to see art by UK illustrator Gerry Turley. His partner is the illustrator of the How to hide a Lion series.

Catherine Barr has a new book due for publication in May, 2021.