Little platypus
- Author: Nette Hilton | Illustrator: Nina Rycroft |Age: 4+ years
A kookaburra and a small glossy creature hatch from eggs at the same time. After examining each other, they come to the conclusion that their features are quite different. Realising that he is not a kookaburra, the small glossy creature tries to find out who he is. But, although he has some things in common with the koala, the emu, the wombat and the frog he meets, he doesn’t belong to them either. In the end, he finally meets a platypus and is happy to know who he is at last.
The story invites little biologists to observe and describe Australian animals and learn about their classification. Inspect each page closely with the children and discuss the animals’ features. Can the children sort the animals into groups based on their features? Have they heard the terms mammal and amphibian before? How can they describe the animals in these groups? Which features does the platypus share with them? We hope that through this book and your discussions, the children will learn to appreciate how unique the platypus really is.
With our book recommendations, we want to spark an interest in children to discover STEM in their everyday lives. Most books go beyond the obvious STEM connections and can be a great starting point for exploring children’s questions and ideas further.
Learn more: Book a STEM workshop.
Article author: Kerstin Johnson
Content Editor & Resources Developer
With many years’ experience developing educational materials for print and online publishing, Kerstin aims to use her editing and writing skills to produce engaging and user-friendly content across all our platforms.
