A Koala's World

If you think you are a picky eater, you might want to take a look at the koala. There are approximately "600 different kinds of eucalyptus trees in Australia" and the koala snubs all but forty of them. Each and every leaf has to pass a sniff test and "if the leaf does not smell right" it is discarded. The koala certainly adds new meaning to the word "picky!" Koalas live in Australia in two groups, the northern and southern. The koala discussed in this book is the northern Queensland koala. The koala is a marsupial (nonplacental mammal) who conducts most of her business in trees including giving birth there. When she is ready, she will finish eating, find "a wide branch" and have her baby. When the baby is born, it is "about the size of a jelly bean." It finds its way along its mother's belly and into a pouch where she drinks milk. The baby will snuggle in the pouch for about seven months while her mother continues to dine on her favorite foods and sleep for an amazing 18 to 20 hours a day. When she is ready to explore the world, she will stay close to her mother, but will use her claws and feet to climb. In this mesmerizing book you will learn about the koala's physical characteristics, where they live, what they eat, their scientific classification, you'll learn about their predators, their territorial needs, how they mark their territories and more! This is one book of eight in Caroline Arnold's "Animal Series." This book was very well written and researched. It has a nice literary way of discussing the koala which I found very appealing as will most children, especially the reluctant reader. The book starts off with several basics, but within two pages we are right up in a tree with a koala who has "a plump body and round ears" that makes her look "like a living teddy bear." There are numerous informative captions that accompany the text. For example, when discussing the koala territory, we find that "A male koala has a special scent gland on his chest. It produces smelly oil." The cut paper illustrations are wonderful and will amaze the reader. In the back of the book is a territory map, some "Koala Fun Facts," a glossary and additional recommended book and web site resources (FactHound). If you read one in this series, you're going to want them all!