Earthly creatures

Ann Packer checks out kids' non-fiction including tales about bats, bugs, otters and a national treasure.

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PEKAPEKA: Secret Forest Bat

by Katie Furze & Ned Barraud (Scholastic)

My moko Amelie loves pekapeka – one of her most recently acquired fuzzy companions is a short-tailed bat, which some older friends find quite perplexing. Once again, the authors of Tuatara and Rūrū manage to slip a lot of information into a simple storyline - with a most restricted colour palette - supported by discrete text blocks of one or two sentences. Two pages cover background and more specific facts, and there's a good bibliography.

TE NGAHERE I TE PÕ/THE FOREST AT NIGHT

by Kiri Lightfoot & Pippa Keel Situ (A&U)

Of all the bilingual formats in print, this story's best reflects the current vernacular. The mix of English and te reo Māori, with neither language dominating, is what you might hear in a school playground, neighbourhood café or any context where Kiwis use kupu they feel comfortable with incorporating in conversation.

Birds and animals settling down for the night against a darkening sky change guard with the night creatures, identified at first only by their eyes. As the forest's insects and invertebrates appear, Kaitiaki Rūrū watches over emerging reptiles, spiders and frogs. In lieu of a glossary, new words are identified in the illustrations, while key words undulate in a playful font.

THE INCREDIBLE INSECTS OF AOTEAROA

by Simon Pollard & Phil Sirvid (Te Papa Press)