Built by Animals: Meet the creatures who inspire our homes and cities

by Christiane Dorion, Yeji Yun (Illustrations)

New title in the internationally best-selling, and Blue Peter Book Award-winning series. 

Following on from the incredible Invented by Animals , Built by Animals  introduces us to the creatures who have inspired the materials and techniques that are used in the building world today.
 
Meet the animals behind the most amazing building tech, humorously brought to life by Yeji Yun and expertly explained by WWF educator Christiane Dorion. This book dives into the world of biomimicry and answers questions From the bee’s honeycomb shape that strengthens structures to termites’ that build their nests with natural air con , these creatures did it first! And, at the end of the book, find out who wins big at the Animal Builder Awards! Will it be the prairie dog, the peacock, the beaver, or the firefly?

Built by Animals explores this amazing STEM subject in a deceptively simple way, showing children that the future of architecture can be inspired by and be respectful of nature.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Animals, Science

80 pages, Hardcover

Published May 3, 2022

About the author

Christiane Dorion is a children's author who is passionate about the natural world and loves writing about it. Her books have won many awards, including the Royal Society Young People's Book Prize. Originally from Quebec, Canada, Christiane now lives in Surrey in the UK.

Reviews

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent illustrated book for the 7-12 years age group who wants to see the extent of the ingenuity present in nature.

The book covers a wide variety of animal and even plants, revealing how each of them has some skills related to architecture, engineering, materials, conservations of resources, and so on. All these skills are much needed by humans and by an educated study of these animal habits and habitats, we can hopefully understand their approach and even incorporate a few in our lifestyle. The range of animals is vast, right from desert animals to underwater creatures to even tiny insects.

The book is 80 pages long, and each of these pages (except for a few) contains details on one specific animal/plant and a few of its important habits that we humans could learn. The content is organised into sections such as construction, materials, shapes, and so on. I liked how the content was presented from the first person perspective of the relevant animal, and in case of plants, the voice was that of an animal closely associated with that plant. This created a beautiful connect and also helped incorporate a touch of humour to the narration.

The accompanying illustrations are fabulous and show not just the animal/plant but also a detailed view of their relevant habits. Every page is completely in colour, and I am sure the physical copy would be outstanding to look at.

At the end of the book, there is a special section called “Award ceremony” where children can match the animals with a special award that they deserve for their innovative qualities. This was fun and nice way of reinforcing the learnings of the book.

Humankind has always considered itself the smartest of the species. This book shows that animals can be way smarter than us and we still have a long way to go in making the maximum use of available natural resources while causing minimal destruction to the environment.

The only complaint I have is that the text is a little cramped up. I think this is because there is a lot of content per page. Though the text is definitely easy to understand for the target age group and is sectioned into logical paragraphs, it still looks a bit cluttered on the digital copy. This might not be an issue in the physical copy.

Recommended not just to every little animal lover but to anyone who wants to see the wonders of nature. Hopefully, we learn a little humility as well by reading about these amazing animals. This would be a wonderful addition to homes, schools and libraries.

4.25 stars.

My thanks to Quarto Publishing Group – Wide Eyed Editions and NetGalley for the DRC of “Built by Animals”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.



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[Melissa Jeanette · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun little book with lots of fascinating facts. All of the animals showcased have cool features that humans have imitated when developing things like glue, heating and cooling, and building design. Lots of cool things to look up further. I imagine it would be great for kids, but I enjoyed it as an adult too. In fact, I might buy a copy of my own.

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, Quarto Publishing Group Wide Eyed Editions, for the advance reading copy.

The book is a very informative read and I love the basic colourful illustrations.
However, the writing/notes seem a bit too crowded and I feel it would be a bit difficult for the target audience.

[Marijt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Door het Lemniscaat-Natuurlijk-tijdschrift was zoonlief al enthousiast geworden over dit boek en wilde het perse lenen van de bibliotheek. We lazen alles in de Nederlandse versie en leerden heel veel van het dieren- en plantenrijk m.b.t. bouwen. Voor ons nog interessanter, omdat we midden in een grote verbouwing zitten waarbij we ook bewust duurzame materialen gebruiken. Wat kunnen we een hoop leren van hoe er in natuur gebouwd wordt!
Na het lezen zijn we nog klimaatbewuster en onder de indruk van de mogelijkheden en handigheidjes van dieren.

Non-fictie in woord en beeld - groep 4 t/m 8

[Tracy Lander · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazingly child friendly I will certainly be putting it on our Non fiction wish list.
I live near Banham Zoo in Norfolk where they have Prairie Dogs so this page interested me. But there were just so many others, i mean who wouldn't love a animal who square poo!
It is all based around what an animal builds, be it burrow, nest, poo, tower etc it tells that animal's story so well. The illustrations are fun and colourful and lead the information.

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kinder finden Tiere ja schon im Allgemeinen einfach nur super, aber wer dieses Buch hat, erfährt relativ schnell, dass unsere Natur aus vielen Superhelden mit tollen Fähigkeiten besteht.

Auch als Erwachsener wird man hier noch überrascht, obwohl man denkt, dass man schon viel über die Umwelt weiß. Besonders von Tieren können wir noch vieles lernen, denn ihre Herangehensweisen sind oft sehr einzigartig und dabei auch enorm effektiv!

Wie baut man den besten Schlafplatz, egal unter welchen Bedingungen...wie schützt man sich am besten vor anderen...wie überlebt man unter schwierigsten Bedingungen und wie komme ich am besten an Nahrung?
Hier gibt es viele praktische Gegebenheiten, die Tiere seit Jahrtausenden umsetzen oder mit denen sie bereits von Geburt an ausgestattet sind. Man muss nur genauer hinsehen und die Umwelt erforschen.
Dementsprechend ist das Buch für unsere kleinen Forscher überaus interessant und der ein oder andere könnte dadurch ein neues Lieblingstier dazugewinnen.

Die Illustrationen helfen super bei dem Verstehen des Textes und zeigen detailliert die Besonderheiten von Pflanzen und Tieren. Sie sind schön farbig und total ansprechend, egal für welches Alter.
Mein sechsjähriger blättert unheimlich gerne durch das Buch, jedoch würde ich es für jüngere Kindergartenkinder nur bedingt empfehlen.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Built by Animals is an illustrated book for middle grade readers showing how human engineering problems sometimes have solutions found in nature. Due out 3rd May 2022 from Quarto on their Wide Eyed Editions imprint, it's 80 pages and will be available in hardcover format.

This is a fun STE(A)M book with lots of facts about animals and how they can give us insights into engineering, architecture, transportation, materials sciences, and more. Author Dr. Christiane Dorion is an experienced educator and author. She writes clearly and well about the subject and kids will find much of the information engrossing and educational. I would've devoured this book at that age.

The art by Yeji Yun is colorful and full of small details which will fascinate young kids and which illustrate the engineering and design points well. The animal builders in the book are anthropomorphic and explain the concepts themselves to add a level of fun and whimsy to the experience. Corner banners on each two page spread show the category they come under: construction, materials, shapes, energy, and water.

The book includes a table of contents and index for convenience. There's also a short fun quiz at the end which invites readers to match awards (best digger, best weaver, best artist, best dam engineer) with the animals in the book who deserve each award. This can be used as a fun activity to facilitate discussions and further learning.

Five stars, a fine choice for public or classroom library acquisition, and for the home library.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

[Sharon Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

Built by Animals: Meet the Creatures who Inspire our Homes and Cities, written by Christiane Dorion and illustrated by Yeli Yun, is currently scheduled for release on May 3 2022. Meet the animals behind the most amazing building tech, brought to life by Yeji Yun and expertly explained by WWF educator Christiane Dorion. This book dives into the world of biomimicry and answers questions like: How can we use more solar energy to power our homes? How can we grow plants in the desert? How can we pump water to the top of very tall buildings?How can we clean polluted rivers? From the bee’s honeycomb shape that strengthens structures to termites’ that build their nests with natural air con, these creatures did it first! And, at the end of the book, find out who wins big at the Animal Builder Awards! Will it be the prairie dog, the peacock, the beaver, or the firefly?

Built by Animals is an educational and entertaining read. I thought the illustrations were absolutely charming and did a great job of holding the reader's interest while helping to clarify the text on each page. It is worth giving the book a look through just to fully appreciate the skill in the illustrations before or after reading the book as a whole. I thought the information shared in this book was well chosen, and I liked the way it tied in the animal's hard work to the efforts some people have been making to make more sustainable or efficient things based on the skills found in nature.I thought the variety of creatures included, and that plants got their mention as well. I loved the creativity and thought that has obviously gone into this book, and think it is a valuable read for interested readers. I think it would be an asset to classroom, school, and public libraries as well as the personal collection for young readers.

[Livres et cafés lattés · Rating 5 out of 5]

📚AVIS DE LECTURE📚
Les animaux ces architectes - Quand la nature inspire nos constructions
Textes : Christiane Dorion
Illustrations : Yeji Yun

RÉSUMÉ
Savais-tu qu’en prenant exemple sur les constructions des castors, nous pourrions réduire les risques d’inondation et de sécheresse ? Que les humains ont imité les fils adhésifs de la moule bleue pour créer une super colle forte écoresponsable ?

Dans ce deuxième livre passionnant consacré au biomimétisme, rencontre ces animaux bâtisseurs, et certains de leurs amis végétaux, qui ont inspiré et inspirent encore de nos jours les humains dans la conception et la fabrication d’étonnantes structures.

Quelle belle série de livres instructifs et captivants. Les textes sont pertinents, pas trop longs, mais débordant d’informations. Et que dire des illustrations ! Elles complètent à merveille les textes et donnent une autre dimension à l’ouvrage.

C’est un énorme coup de cœur pour moi et mon fils. Curieux de nature, nous avons découvert tout plein de faits plus inusités les uns que les autres. Nous avons appris plein de nouvelles informations, nous avons augmenté notre bain de connaissances, comme dirait si bien l’une de ses anciennes enseignantes.

Un album/encyclopédie vraiment chouette à avoir dans votre classe ou dans votre bibliothèque à la maison si vous avez des petits curieux qui se passionnent pour les animaux.

Un très beau cadeau de Noël à offrir !

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is really neat! Each page explores an animal engineer and describes how the animal designs and builds the perfect home. It also offers connections to how we as humans may be able to learn a thing or two from these animals and apply them to our own architecture and design. This book is perfect for an inquiry into STEM or for children who are interested in animals and habitats. As a grade 3 teacher I can think of tons of ways to use this book in lessons in Science. I also think that it would quickly become a favourite in my class library because it is one that is accessible to a variety of students, with beautiful and detailed diagrams at pictures, even children who struggle with reading can gain information from this text. For those who are strong readers there are lots of small text boxes throughout the book that give opportunities for deeper reading and understanding. The text boxes, labels and diagrams also teach non-ficton text features, an important understanding for young readers encountering non-fiction texts for the first time. I would recommend this book to teachers and families of children in the 7-11 age range. I look forward to purchasing a copy for my classroom library when it is published (soon)! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a sneak peek at this awesome new book!

[The Silvan Reverie | Sarah Street · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic STEM-based animal book for children and a nice companion to Invented by Animals: Meet the creatures who inspired our everyday technology. With 77 pages there is a LOT for children to explore. A nice range of animals is represented, broken down into thematic categories as follows:

Construction
Materials
Shapes
Energy
Water

Each animal is featured in a way that explores the "building" aspect and how it might relate to the way we do things in the human world. The focus stays mostly on the animal ingenuity though.

Illustrations are vivid and playful -- animals are anthropomorphized, which I have mixed feelings about. I do think this style appeals to kids and in this case helps drive home the theme (e.g. the beaver is wearing a construction hat).

There are TONS of pages to explore and this won't get boring. Ages 7-10.

**Note: I was given a review copy of this book by Quarto Kids. Opinions are my own.

[Theediscerning · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very cartoonish yet useful look at how animals construct our world, and how we can (or at the very least should) use their inspiration to modify our building habits. So the glass roofs of the Eden Project have hexagons in, as per the beehive, beaver dams are very useful for so many aspects of nature, and a beetle appreciates for us the design of the lotus, which has sprung up in architecture more than once as a result. There are sections of shorter entries, but generally each critter gets a double-page spread, to introduce itself in the first person (which I didn't exactly take to, I'm afraid) and present the case for what it does or how it does it or why what it does is practical. The lesson that all the animals present – and the non-animals alike – have the ability to show us where we're going wrong is a great thing that all educators will admire; the fact that some of them wear trainers at the same time, less so. Three and a half stars.

[Hailey Hconroybooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 7 year old really enjoyed this book! He is a collector of Ranger Rick and National Geographic Kids Magazines. He is also a collector of facts about animals.

We both loved reading through this informative brightly illustrated book and learning cool facts about animals. We saw a building in the UK that was built efficiently and strong with minimal materials to model a beehive. We also read about the diabolical ironclad beetle that has armor so strong, it can be run over by a car! Humans are trying to mimic its strong exterior to build planes and buildings.

There were so many cool facts about plants and animals in this book and my son excitedly asked about things on each page. We both loved learning about how humans are copying strategies from nature to perfect their own engineering.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group -Wide Eyed Editions and Netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Lesemaus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nachhaltige Bautechnik

Das spannende und wunderschöne Kindersachbuch „Von Ameise bis Wombat. Tierisch geniale Bautricks für unsere Zukunft“ stellt Kindern ab 5 Jahren einzigartige tierische Architekten und ihre Techniken vor. Die Themen Konstruktion, Materialien, Formen, Energie und Wasser werden anhand verschiedener Tiere verdeutlicht. Wir lernen zum Beispiel die Biene als Meisterin der Geometrie und andere Baumeister kennen, von denen wir vieles lernen können.
Die Texte sind sehr kindgerecht geschrieben und durch die Illustrationen anschaulich und verständlich gestaltet.
Die tollen und sehr niedlichen Illustrationen haben uns begeistert. Das Buch eignet sich zum Vor- und zum Selbstlesen. Man kann es immer wieder zur Hand nehmen, sich die Bilder anschauen und darin schmökern. Wir empfehlen es großen und auch kleinen Lesern und geben 5 Sterne!

[Deb Kiley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of Built by Animals by Christine Dorion. This is an beautiful book for children that shows the amazing ways animals build, keep cool, conserve water, and inspire humans with their creativity. Perfect for elementary grade children, whether it is read to them or they can read it on their own. Wonderful illustrations add to the informative paragraphs that explain how the animals build without machines, use shapes to build stronger, and use eco-friendly packaging. There are also portions that connect what the animals have done to how humans are studying and using the building techniques and saving energy and water. I highly recommend this book for all children that love animals and/or love creating and building.

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

+Leuke diversiteit van dieren + leuke feitjes over dieren en wat hen speciaal maakt (al zal voor mij een hoornaar altijd Satan zijn met zijn steek).
+Leuke uitvindingen en bouwstijlen en huizen en meer dankzij dieren (nou ja, misschien niet alles zoals symmetrie).
+Toffe illustraties, mooie stijl, veel leuke details
-Iets dat ik vaker zie in boeken, OMG dieren zijn ZO VEEL BETER DAN MENSEN. Goed, ja, misschien wel, maar je hoeft het echt niet de hele tijd te noemen, het werd gewoon vervelend.
-Klimaatverandering. Heel belangrijk. Maar ja, sorry, ik wil soms gewoon even NIET erover lezen. Doe de krant open, BOEM, klimaatverandering. Op het nieuws, klimaat. Op twitter/sociale media/google, overal. Dus ja, nee dank je.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very elementary school introduction to how engineers and scientists are improving things humans use by learning more about the animals around us! Though there are not photographs, the sketches are cute and inviting.

I will use this book to reinforce that researchers look for what they need more often than reading the entire book. We will practice using the table of contents and index. I also hope to use the Awards Ceremony in some way, also. It is a perfect way for students to figure out what skills are most helpful in a group. (The table of contents sorts the animals by Construction, Materials, Shapes, Energy, and Water.)

[Susanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to the author, the Quarto Publishing Group and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fun and fascinating read, both to read to younger kids, and for older kids to read on their own. It contains a wealth of information and insights into engineering, architecture, transportation, materials sciences and more that are inspired by the animal kingdom. The illustrations are colorful and catchy - personally I found it a bit too anthropomorphic, but the target audience I read it with loved it.

[Гери Ди]

Всеки, който някога се е докосвал до необикновения свят на животните, знае, че те са добри учители. Наблюдавайки приспособленията, привичките и начините им за общуване, ние, хората, черпим пример как да оцеляваме при определени условия, да пестим енергия и да използваме природните ресурси по оптимален начин.

Именно на това е посветена една слабо известна, а много увлекателна книга – „Животни строители“ от Кристиан Дорион и Йежи Юн (изд. „Пан“). Разгръщам я тук: https://www.detskiknigi.com/pod-lupa-...

[Gabrielle Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

My toddler was very entranced by this book's adorable illustrations. She is very into animals, so it was very catchy and exciting for her to read this. This book would be great for any elementary aged learners as well. This book is a wealth of knowledge about plants and animals and would be great to add to any STEM curriculum.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group – Wide Eyed Editions and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Elizabeth Mellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing for the ARC of this!

A great addition to our homeschool science books this combines animal facts without too much text with pretty illustrations. This featured a large variety of animals and I thought it was really easy to read a page or two from and then come back to later, perfect for bedtime reading or to spread over a few days of science. I loved all the pictures, but the prairie dog pages were my absolute favorite.

[Nette]

Built by Animals will just make your child be in awe of how amazing animals are. Christiane Dorion has opened one's eyes to see how amazing animals are, how much we can learn from them, and how their ingenious designs have influenced us. The illustrations are perfect for the way Built by Animals is teaching the children of what great things animals do, how they do such great things, and why, everything is answered for that curious child.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one interesting book a curious mind should own and read then share the knowledge with others. This earth is built as such, the inhabitants are made in perfect harmony with the place they lived. Mesmerizing facts that I seldom knew, such as the pricky parts of durians that are created for hot weather (not to defend themselves, mind you.), and other facts that keep you in awe. This one is a must read, for all ages.

[Emilee (emileereadsbooks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group – Wide Eyed Editions, Wide Eyed Editions for a free digital copy.

I really enjoyed the learning aspects of this book as I learned about animals and how they build their homes. I thought the "what can humans learn from these animals" was very cool. I love the idea of humans studying nature to learn how to do things better.

[Cheyenne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has so much great, interesting information in it. The illustrations support the text well and are interesting to look at. This would be a great addition to any child’s bookshelf and library.

[Andréa]

Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss.

[Tapani Aulu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ideana esitellä eläinten rakennustaipumuksia ja -taitoja ja näyttää miten me ihmiset olemme niitä omineet.