The best children’s natural history books spark the reader’s sense of wonder in the world. Two new local specimens, Omnibird: an Avian Investigator’s Handbook by Giselle Clarkson, and Splash! by Donovan Bixley are just this sort of book. Both will help kids to look closely at the world they live in with fresh, excited eyes, plus giggle a lot along the way. 

Omnibird by Giselle Clarkson

This is no ordinary bird book. Omnibird asks the reader to marvel at birds of every feather (sparrows, pigeons, and chickens ahoy). ‘When you see something all the time, ‘it’s easy to forget that it’s extraordinary,’ author-illustrator Giselle Clarkson writes. Omnibird means ‘the universal bird’ and so while some of Aotearoa’s native birds make an appearance, the focus is much broader—it’s really a handbook for considering birds (or aves) as a taxonomic class.

The book is the same genus and species as the author’s earlier title The Observologist, highly illustrated with Clarkson’s charming, distinctive cartoons and humorous notes. Where The Observologist focused on small flora and fauna, Omnibird encourages readers to be avian detectives. Fun and factual information to aid the reader’s own investigations is set out in engaging prose with a dash of whimsy. Anatomy (inside and out) is covered (who knew that the fleshy appendage over a turkey’s beak was called a snood?). So too are avian feet and feathers (helpful for playing Birdle). There’s eggy information plus an insightful dissection of the egg a kid might have for breakfast; advice on remembering bird calls (draw the way they sound and make up rhythms and words to match the calls); and info on bird poo, bird names, baby bird stuff and birds at night. Eighteen investigations in the book cover every birdy from gulls to corvids, ducks to chickens, birds of prey to flightless birds and more.

While Omnibird is aimed at eight to twelve year olds, it’s the kind of book that parents will  find hard to put down too.

Splash! Donovan Bixley’s Coastal Creatures of Aotearoa by Donovan Bixley

Splash! Donovan Bixley’s Coastal Creatures of Aotearoa is the latest in Bixley’s series of flora and fauna hardback picture books for young readers. The three earlier titles are Buzzz! Squawk! and Rustle!

Bixley brings thirteen coastal creatures, birds like kuaka (the bar-tailed godwit), fish like pātiki (flounder), and marine mammals like aihe (dolphins) to life with his characteristic lively, funny illustrations. Each creature gets a double page spread with information about where it lives, what it eats and a few fun facts. Did you know fur seals can pause their pregnancies for up to three months? This reader did not!

Splash! also explores an important coastal habitat: mānawa (mangroves) and the ways mangroves are significant for birds, marine life and humans. A stand out feature, to help kids figure out size and scale, is the use of a drawing of a two litre milk bottle alongside each animal for comparison. Pāroa (sperm whale) blows this out of the water, but Bixley uses a one storey house for scale here, which works just as well (and is another measurement that kids will be able to visualise easily). A map of New Zealand on each page shows the hot spots where each animal can be found. 

Splash! is a wonderful introduction to Aotearoa’s coastal wildlife for readers of around seven to ten. It comes with a positive environmental message and, because there’s lots to look at and discuss, it would also work well as a read aloud book with younger children.