Look After Us: A lift-the-flap book

It is very important to look after wild animals and keep them safe – especially the ones that might be endangered. Camels, orangutans, tigers, elephants and lions all need lots of special care because there aren’t many left right now and humans need to look after them better. Fortunately, in the case of whales, humans have been making an effort to look after them, and now there are many more than there once were.

Endangered species may seem a weighty topic for a board book for 1one to two year olds but Rod Campbell is, after all, the famed author of Dear Zoo – so if anyone knows how to talk simply and clearly to little ones, it’s him. On each page, we have a short repeating text that tells us there aren’t many left of that particular animal, faced with a flap to reveal the animal in question and a question: 'I love lions. I would look after them. Wouldn’t you?'

Though toddlers might not understand the concept of endangered animals and conservation, they absolutely do understand the concept of looking after the things they love, and most toddlers love animals. Therefore, this lovely flap book is a great one to read together – to make the animal noises, enjoy the repeating text and the flaps, but also to ask each other, 'I would look after them. Wouldn’t you?'

It’s a great way to start children thinking about the need to look after the natural world, be that tigers and lions or the butterflies, ants and other animals they may encounter closer to home.