These links show the original reading lists. Inclusion is not a guarantee of suitability for your child.
Gabby Dawnay - Author
A lively introduction to communication in the natural world, this book broadens the idea beyond speech. Readers encounter noisy calls alongside scent, body language, vibrations, movement, displays and signals exchanged between plants and fungi.
Animals and plants share information through vocalisations, scent, body language, vibrations, displays and fungal connections.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: The book expands communication into a broad natural process rather than limiting it to human-like speech.
Talk about: Which forms of communication are easiest to notice, and which depend on paying closer attention?
Connection and group life
Examples show creatures sharing information with packs, flocks or herds, warning others and sometimes cooperating across species.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: Social communication is presented as serving practical purposes such as safety, coordination and connection.
Talk about: If a warning is copied or misunderstood, whether does it still help the group?
Striking and unfamiliar behaviours
The book includes unusual or potentially comic examples, such as dung messages, mole-rat headbutting, deceptive warning calls and displays used to attract mates.Exploratory / explanatoryExploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.Exploratory / explanatory: the book explains or explores the subject without an established evaluative position.
How the book presents it: These behaviours are used to make natural communication memorable, while their biological purposes are explained.
Talk about: How might a reader respond differently to a behaviour after learning what it communicates?
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Why It May Be Worth Reading
Its strongest offering is curiosity: familiar animals sit alongside less obvious examples, encouraging readers to notice that information-sharing can be cooperative, deceptive, protective or connected with attracting a mate.
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What Deserves Attention
Some examples may prompt surprise or laughter, including messages involving dung, headbutting, scent and bodily signals. An adult can help distinguish an engaging story-like presentation from what the behaviour actually means.
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A Conversation Worth Having
Which communication method felt most surprising, and what might be gained by using it? Could a signal be misunderstood, copied or used for more than one purpose?
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Reading Approach
Read a few spreads at a time rather than treating it as a continuous narrative. Pause to sort examples by signal type—sound, smell, movement or visual display—and revisit illustrations to notice details.
Confidence & Basis
Theme indicators describe how the book presents a topic; they are not a verdict on the whole book or your family's values. Confidence reflects how much book-specific material was checked. Only part of the book information was available, so some details remain unconfirmed.
What remains unconfirmed
Communication beyond speech: The full balance and detail of explanations across all 48 stories are not established.
Connection and group life: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
Striking and unfamiliar behaviours: Some details of this treatment remain unclear.
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