Total Pageviews

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Migration: Incredible Animal Journeys, written by Mike Unwin and illustrated by Jenni Desmond. Bloomsbury, Raincoast. 2019. $24.99 ages 8 and up

"There's a dark stain on the
sea. The lower you fly, the
bigger it seems to get,
stretching for four to nine
miles along the coast. At first
it looks like spilled oil, but
soon you can see that the stain
is moving, heading slowly east.
Aha! It's not oil but fish -
millions and millions of them,
all swimming in one enormous
shoal."

Kids love learning as much as they can about animals. Many are endlessly engaged in books that tell about the many feats of travel these animals make. In Mike Unwin's newest book, he introduces 'animals on the move'.

"Swallows are not the only long-distance travelers.
Many different animals around the world make similar
journeys - crossing mountains, deserts, and oceans
along the way. These journeys are called migrations,
and they happen in many different ways: while birds
fly through the air, elephants trek across the land and
turtles swim through the sea."

Seasonal changes mean these animals have to move to escape harsh weather, to find a better place to find food, and to have babies. The hazards are many and their journeys arduous; yet, they often make the migration year after year. Mr. Unwin describes twenty different animals here. Their stories are fascinating.

On double-page spreads he describes their journeys. The animals are diverse in size, as are their environments.  He includes mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, and invertebrates. Jenni Desmond uses watercolor, acrylic, ink, pencil and pencil crayon to provide exceptional images of the animals, and adds a simple, single paragraph of text of her own. The design is accessible for young readers, with just enough information to satisfy their curiosity.

In back matter a world map traces the migration paths globally, and the author makes a plea to his readers to speak up and help those animals whose natural habitats are being damaged by people.

No comments:

Post a Comment