Hidden Planet: Secrets of the Animal Kingdom (Rothery's Animal Planet Series)
Description
A Kirkus Star
This 96-page large-trim-size book features gorgeous pictures by an illustrator for London's Natural History Museum to explore the hidden interactions and survival strategies of our planet's animals.
The creatures in this book are hidden in various ways. Some survive by means of symbiotic relationships with other creatures, like the clownfish living among an anemone’s poisonous tentacles. Some are closely related to seemingly unconnected animals, like the elephant and the manatee. Some use hidden abilities to do amazing things. Some change color. Some change sex. Some disguise themselves. Some secrete themselves but remain nearby. The stunning illustrations in this large-format book reveal nature’s magnificence, which often hides in plain sight.
Praise for Hidden Planet: Secrets of the Animal Kingdom (Rothery's Animal Planet Series)
If there’s an animal enthusiast on your holiday list, have a look at Ben Rothery’s books about the natural world. These are beautiful works of nonfiction, large in size—always nice in a gift—and rich with illustrations that are so finely executed that you may mistake them for photographs. In “Hidden Planet,” “Ocean Planet” and “Sensational Butterflies,” Mr. Rothery writes as engagingly as he draws. “Who
would think, to look at them, that the elephant’s closest relatives are the manatee, the dugong, and the rock hyrax?” he asks. “Or that seals, sea lions and walruses are not related to whales, dolphins or manatees, but rather to bears and weasels?” Children ages 7-13 (and their parents) won’t merely enjoy themselves with these books; they’ll also learn something.
— Meghan Cox Gurdon - Wall Street Journal
Kirkus Starred Review -- A detail-obsessed illustrator’s “love letter” to Earth’s wild fauna.
— Kirkus Reviews
Exploring hidden aspects of the animal kingdom, this oversized picture book brims with photo-realistic illustrations and descriptions of some of Earth’s most interesting creatures and their unique abilities. Most useful for fostering a budding interest in animals with older children, the book examines hidden elements of nature in both a literal sense—such as the camouflage of the chameleon—and the figurative, like the process of convergent evolution. Younger children will enjoy the illustrations, which bring them face-to-face with everything from toads to lions.
— Danielle Ballantyne - Forward Reviews