The Variety of Life by Nicola Davies and Lorna Scobie (Hodder Children's Books)

Whoah, there are some seriously amazing children's non fiction titles around this autumn, and tons of amazing Natural History titles for wee ones...
We've been really enjoying our tour through "The Variety of Life" by Nicola Davies and Lorna Scobie, with some amazing illustrations and a dazzling mix of facts for your tiny animal fans.

This is a large format hardback book that is perfect for little ones to get to grips with - particularly if they love animals, wildlife programs or trips to the zoo or wildlife parks.

Meet amazing animal species and learn all about their habitats, what they eat, and what they love to get up to in the wilds.


We do love a book that fully engages tinies in a brilliant subject without dumbing down or getting too 'cartoony' (as Charlotte describes some books). That said, the animals in this book are just SO CUTE (yes, even the slightly creepy ones!)

Hark! A Shark? In the dark? Not in the park!

We particularly liked the idea of a 'species count'. Each page spread features a particular species of animal and tells you just how many amazing varieties there are of that animal. Did you know there are over 500 species of Shark for example? A great leap-off point for kids to go and find out more on the internet or in other books.

P-P-P-Pick your favourite penguin. 17 species to choose from (We love the Macaroni Penguins of course!)

Again as we've often said with these brilliant early years natural history titles, there's so much to love about this book whether you choose to use it at home or in school as the basis of amazing classroom projects.

"The Variety of Life" by Nicola Davies and Lorna Scobie is out now, published by Hodder Children's Books (kindly supplied for review).