Pekapeka : Secret Forest Bat

Knowing other captivating books by the Katie Furze and Ned Barraud duo (like 'Ruru' and 'Tuatara'), I was incredibly excited to see this one focusing on our amazing native bat, the pekapeka, and it absolutely did not disappoint. As expected, the illustrations are truly stunning; masterfully varying from simple images to richly detailed, immersive scenes that bring the forest to life.

A charming fictional story runs throughout the book, yet on the majority of pages, there is also a fascinating snippet of factual information tucked neatly into a sidebar. It's concise and accessible—just perfect to keep the reader's interest piqued without overwhelming them. For those who want to explore the facts in more detail, the final two pages give further factual information and a useful website link. This book can therefore be enjoyed by readers with different preferences: those who love pure fiction, those who prefer small bursts of facts, or those who like to combine both. Even those reading only the fictional story will subtly glean crucial information about the pekapeka, all while enjoying the wonderful suspense and engaging onomatopoeia Katie Furze uses.

I can absolutely see this being a huge hit with primary school teachers to introduce topics about native bats, the Aotearoa New Zealand environment, and the mechanics of echolocation. As far as I'm aware, there are no accompanying teacher notes at this stage, but I wouldn't be surprised if some come out in the future.