Epic Animal Journeys: Navigation & Migration by Air, Land and Sea by Ed J Brown and Ziggy Hanaor. Cicada Books, c2022, 2023. 9781800660298
Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5
Format: Hardcover
What did you like about the book? Beginning with birds, the author informs in detail with excellent color illustrations, how turtle doves, puffins, skylarks, shelducks, barn swallows, storks, ospreys and others migrate and how they navigate that migration. It is truly astounding! Preparation for each individual species is addressed along with the modes of transport such as gliding, flapping and bounding. The distance traveled and the amount of time it takes is truly remarkable. (The Great Snipe can travel 96 hours at a stretch, completing its migration from northern Sweden to Sub-Saharan Africa in four days, a distance of 6,800 km with speeds up to 100 km/hr.!.)
Large animal migration for gazelles, wildebeests, giraffes and caribou receive the same amount of detailed information. Caribou boast the longest migration route of any land animal, a round trip journey of 5000 km yearly. The largest herd numbers around 220,000 animals! Smaller animals like lemmings and naked mole rats (who knew that they migrated?!) have interesting manners of migration. The seemingly fragile Monarch Butterfly travels from Mexico to northeastern Canada and the US, a distance of 7500 km. every year.
The author does not exclude reptiles, amphibians, and fish which are every bit as fascinating as birds and mammals. The effects of climate change and habitat loss are wreaking havoc on these navigations and migrations. A glossary and index are provided.
Anything you did not like about the book? About Monarch butterflies: it takes 2 weeks for a caterpillar to form a chrysalis, not one as stated on age 39, and another 2 weeks before it emerges as a butterfly.
To whom would you recommend this book? This book is for anyone interested in animals that migrate and how they do it.
Who should buy this book? Public and elementary school libraries
Where would you shelve it? 591.56
Should we (librarians) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? If you want to learn the most amazing facts about animal migration and navigation, yes.
Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City: Katrina Yurenka, Retired Librarian, Contributor, Youth Services Book Review
Date of Review: February 3, 2023
Youth Services Book Review 
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