Koala Hospital
by
Suzi Eszterhas
Owlkids, October 13, 2015
Nonfiction
Summary:
Koala Hospital features a koala rescue center in Australia. It
shows why koalas are in danger, how they come to be in the sanctuary,
and the process of healing and rehabilitating koalas for return to the
wild.
Koala Hospital also focuses on the people who work at the rescue center and how they aid the animals.
Why You'll Love It:
- Topic-specific spreads make it easy for kids to dip in and out of
the book, but they will likely read it from cover to cover. Interesting
facts are incorporated throughout, even in the back matter. For example,
koalas are one of the few mammals besides primates that have
fingerprints; and “the word 'koala’ comes from an old Aboriginal word
meaning 'no drink.’” (Koalas get moisture from their meals of
eucalyptus leaves. While the leaves are poisonous to most animals,
“koalas have a special digestive system that can break down the
toxins”—though they sleep eighteen hours a day to recover from this hard
work!)
- Readers will enjoy learning about how hospital staff and volunteers
care for the animals. For instance, a laundry basket creates a small
space “like a nest that keeps koalas contained while making them feel
safe,” and “a healthy joey will go to a human foster mother and live in
her house full time.”
- The cute marsupials practically pop off the page. Each spread
features at least two photos, one of which usually fills a full page or
bleeds across the gutter. Many are close-ups, while others show koalas
in the hospital setting, with their foster mothers, or in their natural
environment. Some especially endearing images include a joey dribbling
milk during a feeding, a koala cuddling with a stuffed likeness of
itself, and a marsupial snoozing high among tree branches.
Who Should Read It:
Great for grades 2-5...and here's the koala hospital's
website!
What Else You Should Read:
Night World
