HUMANIMAL Incredible Ways Animals Are Just Like Us!

From an author critically acclaimed for the award-winning Absolutely Everything comes a fascinating book demonstrating the curious connections between us humans and many other animals. It is written with great enthusiasm, and will appeal to many children … and adults, with a keen interest in creatures. It will inspire readers to see how similar we are to those who inhabit this planet alongside us. It opens eyes to so many detailed similarities, demonstrating many reasons to empathise with other living things. The contents are divided into Community, Feelings, and Intelligence. We read of Jane Goodall’s work, watching chimpanzees over many years in Tanzania, starting in the 1960s. It was unusual for scientists at that time to observe their creatures of interest day and night over long periods, as Goodall did. She made what was until then unknown, the staggering discovery that chimps not only used tools, but actually made them. There are many examples of creatures “aping” our way of life. Many people will know that bees, on returning to the hive/nest will perform their waggle dance, to communicate a site of particularly good nectar or pollen. And maybe we know that ants “farm” aphids; when hungry, the ants stroke the aphids causing them to produce a sugary drink known as honeydew. Canada geese and other migrating birds do just as cyclists/runners in a race do; one bird/cyclist/marathon runner is selected to lead the group, taking the brunt of the wind. When tired, they drop back for an easier flight/ride, whilst another takes the lead.  The chapter on love includes stories of many different creatures, from primates to penguins to blue footed boobies. Aggression also gets a chapter, as does Grief. There is a recount of an orca whale being surrounded by several female orcas on the day her calf died. It was observed that after this, she carried her calf for 17 days before finally letting it go. Elephants have often been filmed returning to the site of the death of one of their family, weeks after the event, inspecting the bones. Is that a way of grieving? The glossary explains clearly vocabulary use, e.g. dopamine, a chemical released to make one feel happy; hypothesis… And before the detailed index are 15 photos of ecologists, marine biologists, psychologists, with brief biographies of their work. The illustrator, Mark Ruffle, has provided impressive artwork throughout, and the whole book comes together to inspire readers to think more deeply about our relations with the animal kingdom. Quite amazing, and the author’s enthusiasm for his subject is infectious. Should be in every school library.