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Poo: A Natural History of the Unmentionable

by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Neal Layton

Interest age: 6 to 9
Reading age: 7+

Published by Walker Books, 2018

  • Funny
  • Non-fiction

About this book

This funny non-fiction picture book for older readers is packed full of fascinating facts about poo and enthusiastically explains why this natural waste product is one of the most useful things on earth.

Readers will discover how poo can be used to identify an animal and provide a wealth of information about the creature’s diet or habitat. From the tiny pinhead-sized poo of a bumblebee bat to the massive poos produced by blue whales, which can be several metres long, faecal matter comes in all shapes and sizes, and has a multitude of functions.

Some animals use poo to pass on messages to others, such as a warning to stay off their territory, or to indicate when they are ready to mate. Millipedes use their pellet-like waste as bricks to build nests for their eggs, and hippos follow the whiff of their stinky excrement trails to lead them back home in the dark. Even fossilised dinosaur poo contains evidence about the diet and lifestyle of prehistoric creatures, enabling scientists to understand how they lived.

A comprehensive index and useful glossary complete this brilliant reference guide to all things poo-related, which is superbly illustrated with Neal Layton’s comical, sketchy drawings.

About the author

Nicola Davies is the author of more than 50 books for children: fiction, non-fiction and poetry. Her work has been published in more than 10 different languages and has won major awards in the UK, US, France, Italy and Germany.

Nicola trained as a zoologist, taking a degree in Natural Sciences from King's College, Cambridge. She spent some years as a field biologist and studied humpback and sperm whales, and bats, before joining the BBC Natural History Unit as a researcher and then presenter.

Following the start of her writing career, Nicola became a senior lecturer in creative writing, at Bath Spa University but has been writing full time for over a decade. She now regularly runs workshops for children and adults to help them find their voices as writers and advocates for nature. In 2017, she was the first recipient of the SLA’s award for Outstanding Contribution to Children’s Non-fiction and in 2018 had four picture books longlisted for the Greenaway Award.

Find out what Nicola Davies is up to as our Writer in Residence

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