This is a giant of a book - literally in size - but in significance, too! Robert Macfarlane is an absolute genius with words, and Jackie Morris is, hands down, the best watercolour artist ever! Her illustrations are jawdroppingly knockout, and his poetry just fills children and adults alike with wonder. The observations of animal behaviour he makes are so astute that readers who recognise them won't be able to help but smile, and children for whom the natural world is more of a phenomenon than a familiar place will find their interest piqued and their hearts quickened. The language Macfarlane uses is highly sophisticated - a stretch for even adult readers - but somehow this just adds to the wonder and otherness of his poetry, rather than making it less accessible. He makes you want to look up the words he uses because they sound so wonderful rolling off your tongue!

My kids - animal lovers, admittedly - pored over this when it first came out - and it's size means that it's a great book for sharing in this way.

For gifting, classrooms, and coffee tables everywhere, this book is not just any book - it's an experience - one every child - and adult - should have!