Off They Go!: Animal Migrations

About this book

In this lovely rhyming book, James Carter and James Munro explore the migratory experiences of a number of animals from barn swallows to salmon, humpback whales to emperor penguins – and even humans. 

It’s a picture book aimed at younger readers and listeners, so the detail on each animal’s migratory journey is limited but still provides an interesting insight into their habits for little ones who are probably learning about what migration is for the first time.  

Readers learn that emperor penguins walk hundreds of miles across the snow in March, where the female leaves the male penguin with the egg until August when she returns to feed the chick, and that monarch butterflies head north to Canada from Mexico, via Texas where they lay their eggs.  

James Munro’s gorgeously colourful illustrations are full of fun and humour, and the text is laid out nice and clearly across a double page spread per animal, meaning that the book feels open and calm to read. 

At the end, there are a few pages with slightly more text, answering the question of how animals know where to go in their migrations, and detailing some more unusual migrations, such as zoo plankton, puffins and eels. 

About the author