Supernavigators: How Animals Find Their Way

by David Barrie, Rebecca Stefoff (Adapter), Qu Lan (Illustrator)

Young readers’ edition

63 pages, Unknown Binding

Published January 1, 2025

About the author

I've been fascinated by the astonishing things that animals can do ever since I was a small boy.

It took more than three years to research and write my latest book - SUPERNAVIGATORS. I traveled around the world to interview the top scientists and observed cutting-edge experiments in progress.

SUPERNAVIGATORS is an exploration of the wonders of animal navigation, and it explains what we now know about how animals find their way around. It is packed with amazing discoveries, and raises important questions about our own place in the world - now that we rely so heavily on our electronic gadgets to tell us where we are.

SUPERNAVIGATORS is published in the US by The Experiment and in the UK by Hodder and Stoughton (under the title INCREDIBLE JOURNEYS).

My website - www.davidbarrieauthor.org - includes blog and vlog posts, as well as further information about me and my work.

You can follow me on Twitter @barrieauthor or on Instagram @authorbarrie

My last book, SEXTANT, was inspired by the life-changing experience of sailing across the Atlantic in the days before GPS had reduced navigation to a matter of pushing buttons. It is a hymn to the almost vanished art of fixing your position by the light of the sun and stars - with the aid of a sextant - an art on which mariners relied until only a generation ago. It also celebrates the incredibly brave and dedicated explorers who used the same technique to make the first accurate maps of the world's oceans.

Here’s a little bit about me:

I was brought up on the south coast of England where I learned to sail and fell in love with the traditional art of navigation. Since then I've sailed in many parts of the world - from British Columbia to the China Sea, and from the Hebrides to the Caribbean.

I have some background in the behavioral sciences having studied experimental psychology (and philosophy) at Oxford University. I’m also a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Navigation - Britain’s learned society for navigators.

My working life has been quite varied: the list of jobs includes deck hand, diplomat, intelligence analyst, arts administrator and criminal justice campaigner.

I'm married with two daughters and live in London. I also happen to be the great great nephew of J M Barrie, the author of PETER PAN, in case you’re interested!