Here are some wonderful new releases that all feature animals. Some focus on movement, others on the animals’ special features. Some are fiction, most are nonfiction. But all of them are great to share with students and young readers!

Looking for a fun book to share with preschool or kindergarten? Animals Move by Jane Whittingham is a picture book with padded cover and thick pages, for little ones. And kids won’t even realize they are learning while having fun. The book introduces names of baby animals and adults. Did you know that a baby porcupine is called a porcupette? Text and photos show animals jumping, wriggling and pouncing while a child makes all the same moves. Fun to read, then jump up and go through all the activities together. ISBN 978-1-77278-238-7, Pajama Press

Room For More, Michelle Kadarusman, illustrated by Maggie ZengTwo wombats dig a burrow in the Australia’s bush. Soon wallabees, koalas and many others stampede by in search of shelter from wildfires. Then den gets very crowded but there’s always room for more. And the kindness of the wombats is repaid by their friends when the rains come down and threaten their burrow. A picturebook that works on many levels: Australian wildlife, natural disasters, friendship and more. With nonfiction information on back pages. ISBN 978-1-77278-252-3, Pajama Press

A unique picture book about animals is Time To Shine, Celebrating the World’s Iridescent Animals, by Karen Jameson with art by Dave Murray. This book features on animal – an insect, a snake, a bird, etc. – on each page with short, rhyming text. The iridescence and its cause or effect is then explained in a small text box. This way the book can work for young readers as well as for slightly older budding scientists. ISBN 978-1-77306-462-8, Groundwood Books

In Finding Moose, by Sue Farrell Holler and Jennifer Faria,  a child and her grandfather set off for a quiet walk in the woods, hoping to spot a moose. They don’t see moose but they do see small critters, birds, moose droppings and more. All along grandfather shares their native names in Ojibwemowin, language. A gentle story about bonding in nature. ISBN 978-1-77278-244-8 Pajama Press

Beastly Puzzles by Rachel Poliquin, illustrated by Byron Eggenschwiler is my new favourite picturebook about animals. With incredible fold-out pages, the book is a guessing game into the amazing weirdness of nature. Each page asks questions to get kids thinking: what animal could you build with three billiard balls, dinosaur feet, some feather dusters and a vacuum hose? An ostrich, of course! Great art by Byron Eggenschwiller makes the impossible seem possible as each spread unfolds. A book that will be loved by young naturalists as well as by budding inventors and will lead to hours of read-aloud fun while learning impressive animal facts. ISBN 978-1-77138-913-6, Kids Can Press

Margriet Ruurs is the Canadian author of many books for children. To book her for author presentations at your school, visit: www.margrietruurs.com