"How the Platypus got his shape" by Anne Faundez and Simon &

Springboard Stories is a veritable cornucopia of brilliant ideas gathered together in an interesting website, supported by fantastic quality paper publications too. We were lucky enough to be sent one of Springboard's latest books and it's a superb animal tale with a rather poignant message. So let's make like a Platypus and dive in!

Children familiar with Aesop's Fables, or more recently the excellent Tinga Tinga Tales will love "How the Platypus Got His Shape" by Anne (Tiddalik) Faundez. It tells the story of a beautiful but incredibly vain animal whose lustrous rainbow-hued fur, beautiful retroussé beak and huge shiny eyes became the rather odd creature we know (and love) today.

Platypus was once a dazzling spectacle to behold, strutting around admiring himself in watering holes and pools, so exactly how did he end up transformed so dramatically?

You know what I'm going to say. You'll have to read the book to find out.

The book is beautifully illustrated by the Walmesley brothers (we particularly loved Platypus in his original form, and that's become Springboard Stories' hallmark, quite rightly so!) and one rather interesting aspect of the story is the words it uses, designed to compliment and stretch an early reader's vocabulary with some quite weighty language that flows beautifully to build the story.

Please drop by Springboard Stories and follow them on twitter (@sprngbrdstories) as they are doing some amazing things.