Gross Things Animals Eat (Claire Stevens, illus Adele K Thomas, HarperCollins)

Gross Things Animals Eat is packed with disgusting, bizarre and outrageous descriptions and illustrations that young readers aged 5 and up will absolutely love. Australian veterinarian Claire Stevens invites children to think like scientists, encouraging curiosity about strange animal eating behaviours and asking why creatures do such “revolting” things. Through this lens, readers come to understand that natural systems are interconnected and carefully balanced. Weird and wonderful animal facts abound. Who knew that great white sharks only eat every 3 months, that gorillas eat dirt to stop diarrhoea, or that baby koalas eat their mother’s poo? While Stevens makes it clear that human children shouldn’t eat poo or scavenge in bins, she stresses that people can help protect animals and their habitats by reducing the amount of rubbish they produce. Although the book’s language is fun and friendly, Stevens breaks down scientific concepts in a way that is easy to grasp without oversimplifying. Adele K Thomas’s quirky illustrations add colour and humour to each page. Gross Things Animals Eat offers plenty of opportunities to laugh, groan or shudder in horror. Ultimately, it also places humans firmly within the web of nature we share with creepy crawlies, birds, reptiles, sea creatures and the animals living all around us.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Merril Darling is a freelance book reviewer based in Melbourne. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

Books+Publishing pre-publication reviews are supported by the Copyright Agency Cultural Fund.

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