Animal Sidekicks: Amazing Stories of Symbiosis in Animals and Plants

by Macken Murphy, Dragan Kordic (Illustrations)

Heard about the fish that clean shark teeth? Or the frog that lives with a tarantula? Welcome to the weird world of symbiosis—where animals form incredible relationships.

The crab that wears a sea urchin as a hat

The bat that goes to bed inside a plant

The warthog that takes a trip to a mongoose spa.

Genres: Nonfiction, Picture Books, Childrens

128 pages, Hardcover

Published April 5, 2022

About the author

Macken Murphy is a writer and science educator. He hosts a weekly podcast about animals, Species, recommended by both Apple and BBC’s Wildlife magazine. He is currently studying anthropology at the University of Oxford.

Reviews

[Rcltigger · Rating 5 out of 5]

What's not to love about this book? The illustrations are fantastic. The text is so interesting. And the best part? You don't even have to read it in order! You can just skip around to the parts that interest you most.

[Michelle Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was very fascinating and would be great in an elementary classroom!

[₊˚ ⁀➴ kenzie ⠀❦ jacks’ version · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations and layout were aesthetically pleasing.

[Pinky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learn about symbiotic relationships in the animal kingdom.

[Sarah Old Inactive Account · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to learn about so many different symbiotic relationships and the illustrations were vibrant and instructive! But there was just too much evolutionary mumbo jumbo to warrant 4 stars. (It was, however, evident to us as Christians how many of these mutually beneficial pairs were placed together by our benevolent Creator. But the book obv. Didn’t recognize this)

[Eliza · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is AMAZING!!! I adore animals!!!💖💖💖💖💖😍😍 loved reading about the partnerships between animals

Anything animals I super duper looper flopper retooled love, so I choose this rating because I love learning about animals 😊😊

I learning about animals, so I liked all of it
Did not dislike any of it
#Animal LOVE

[Cecile · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting illustrations; erroneous evolutionary dating.

[Mild pause for sophomore year 😅 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Other than several mentions of evolution as the reason for life on earth, it is fairly good! Good illustrations, good information, good examples.

[J. Robinson-Readersgottoread]

I read the highlights for many of the animals, mini-beasts, and flora. I read a library copy and I did not spend time reading all the pages… this time. This is a book to read over a long time. I loved the illustrations and captions. This is be a great gift book choice for young nature lovers.