Reviewed by Wendy Lipke
Over the past several years Lothian Children’s Books have published work belonging to a set of illustrated Encyclopaedia on animals by natural history illustrator, Sami Bayly. The illustrations in these books are watercolours while the line drawings on the pages which provide interesting facts are produced by pen. The first of these books was published in 2019 where it won many accolades from the literary world. The books in the series that followed were also highly acclaimed, many winning awards.
The Illustrated Encyclopaedia series are nonfiction books and so far, include: The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Ugly Animals, The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Dangerous Animals, The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Peculiar Pairs in Nature and The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Extinct Animals. A book about fast and slow animals has now been added to this list.
These books are beautifully presented on quality paper and with hard covers. They also come with their own ribbon bookmark and have a well-spaced contents section and introduction from the author. Each book in the series has its own individual solid-coloured strip covering the spine and partway onto the covers. The background of the covers presents like textured wallpaper and the animals featured vary with the group being highlighted.
The latest book provides information on sixty creatures that are categorised as being among the fastest or slowest species in the world. These include birds, insects, reptiles, fish and other sea creatures as well as mammals. Each double page spread in the book features a large painting of the creature being presented facing a page of information beautifully set out under coloured headings. Information provided is about the appearance, speed, conservation status, location or habitat where found, and diet of each and a small coloured area containing fun facts.
What might be different in these books, from other books on animals, is that this author has also included animals that have evolved to be fast and slow in other remarkable ways. Included are the high-speed spitting archerfish, the turbo-chewing mole, a slow growing giant clam and a slow-ageing shark. Often the characteristics of each group, the reader will learn, will be influenced by body size and location. They will also learn how these adaptations help certain species survive.
These books have been written for children and include characteristics which would appeal to this age such as how many times a day a panda poos and how an ostrich’s eye is almost twice the size of its brain. There is also a link with one of the species highlighted to the film Finding Nemo. There are many other fascinating pieces of information that are interesting to all ages.
Some of the species presented with be very familiar to Australian readers while others may not have been heard of e.g. the olm which features on one of Slovenia’s coins (92) or the Patagonian mara planarea (flatworm) being used by scientists to investigate regeneration (108). As an older reader, I was fascinated to see all the collective names for these creatures and how bats give birth and how long the process takes.
The language used in these books is appropriate for children with some interesting alliteration like ‘pesky parasites’ to retain interest. There is always something new to learn regardless of age.
Sami Bayly has also published other books with a slightly different focus. These are animal evolution stories for younger children. They are about how certain creatures came to be. So far two have been published: one on Surprising Sea Creatures and the other Creatures of Camouflage and Mimicry, all published by Lothian/Hachette Australia.
These books by this talented young woman will provide information and amusement for all ages for many years to come. As children’s books their appearance and amusing titles as well as their contents should encourage a search for knowledge and a love of reading. They would be a great addition to any home where knowledge is encouraged as well as in educational institutions.
The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Fast and Slow Animals
(2025)
by Sami Bayly
Lothian Children’s Books
ISBN:978-0-7344-2141-8
$32.99;32pp