BookBairn

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It’s survival of the fittest in the animal kingdom. So how do the tiniest creatures tough it out?

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Two years ago I discovered a lyrical picture book - Leap Hare Leap - that we adore which beautifully combines nature, poetry and artwork!

Our puppy has moved in! For all those asking he’s a nearly six-month old cockapoo called Bertie and we are smitten!

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Which books made you a reader?

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Have you ever thought about how much is going on in a toddler’s mind as they not only learn the sounds of language but also that when put together those sounds make words and those words have meaning? And at the same time their brains are learning how lots of things work?

As Michael Rosen points out in the introduction to his latest poetry collection Ready for Spaghetti, it’s utterly mind-boggling!

There are eight billion of us humans on the planet. All breathing, eating, sleeping, fidgeting, and thinking deep thoughts. An unimaginably large number.

So in steps The Biggest Footprint by Rob & Tom Sears and its ‘smooshing machine’ to bring all humankind together, quite literally, into one spectacular giant human to represent all eight billion of us.

And then the smooshing machine starts sucking in animal species to show just how we compare to them - the use of scale images in this book is just genius but I’ll come back to that. And suddenly the mega human looks even more huge. Throw in the animal species we breed for food production and a little history comparison and you start to realise just how out of proportion things have become.

Taking into account not just our effect on other animal species but also earth’s resources and our massive amount of waste, this book is a startling read. But it’s also sprinkled with hope showing that a mega human can cause a lot of destruction but it also (collectively) has great power to plant new trees, clear plastic from the ocean, build wind turbines, clean up and give back to the places were have plundered providing habitats for our fellow earth-dwellers.

This book really is ingenious. I just love it. It reads like a fable but is packed full of facts and statistics. It’s bleak but packed full of humour and ends with a message of hope. The illustrations really make the statistics come to life in a way that I could not have visualised without them. And it empowers us to realise that we, as a collective, have damaged the planet but also that we, as a collective are a powerful force that can fix it.

I implore you to buy a copy of this. It’s so important.

Kim x

Disclaimer: If you click on the image of the book below you will be sent to Amazon.co.uk using an affiliate link. This means that if you choose to purchase on Amazon.co.uk, I will receive a small sum (around 20-90p per book) from Amazon at no extra cost to you. I understand that you may not want to use an affiliate link, but if you like reading our blog post please just think of it as a small tip for a tip-off to an awesome book. And know that your support means I can buy more books! For more information check out our For Readers Section.

What a joyful read The Flower Garden by Renee Kurilla has proven to be! I just want more books in this graphic novel or comic book style for young readers like this! BookBairn and I loved reading this together - she could have read it all by herself, and I’m sure she will pick it up to do so, but reading together is such a joy!

What to do when your husband is planning a work trip to Paris that coincides with your birthday*?

I’m going to give him a list of books to buy in a French bookshop obviously and insist on my favourite French truffles.

Did you know I used to live in Paris? I studied French at University and spent my year abroad teaching in a school there and it’s been in my heart ever since.