Animal Olympics

By Author / Illustrator

Carron Brown, Katy Tanis

Genre

Animals

Age range(s)

Publisher

The Ivy Press

ISBN

9781782409861

Format

Hardback

Published

05-05-2020

Synopsis

Are you ready to meet some of the most incredible Olympians in the world? These animal athletes are at the top of their game, and they're ready to go for gold!

This fascinating book for readers aged 5+ examines the incredible abilities of animals from all around the globe with a captivating and original conceit - in Animal Olympics, the creatures are competing, and the reader has a front row seat to the action.

In each event, animals are awarded bronze, silver or gold for their skills. Events featured in the book include diving, wrestling, rock climbing and gymnastics. Readers will discover all kinds of astounding animals, from the bar-headed goose, which flies at heights of up to 6,300 metres, to the flic-flac spider, which cartwheels across the Moroccan desert. Fun vignettes show the animals in their heat, and are accompanied by absorbing, fact-packed captions.

On your marks, get set, and off we go to the Animal Olympics!

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Reviews

A fun introduction to some of the most accomplished animals all over the world! Animal Olympics is a colourful, non-fiction read for children aged 5+ who are fascinated by the animal kingdom and incredible facts. There are 12 events in which creatures great and small are illustrated humorously. competing for a gold medal in the event itself and displaying their skills in their natural habitat.

The events range from boxing and wrestling to sprinting and high jump and feature recognisable animals such as cheetahs and polar bears alongside perhaps more obscure wildlife like the mantis shrimp and Moroccan flic-flac spiders (my personal favourites of the book).

The captions are delightful - especially the pieces of boastful dialogue - and the ratio of text to illustration is just right. Animal Olympics also features a final page of recommendations for further reading on the topic of animal facts, working with animals and sport and the Olympics for those keen to explore further. A real winner from author, Carron Brown and illustrator, Katy Tanis.

32 pages / Reviewed by Rhiannon Cook, school librarian