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A Curious Collection of Wild Companions: An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Inseparable Species
Heartwarming, surprising, and downright bizarre creature connections
Relationships can be complicated, and it’s no different in the wild. Meet 60 dynamic duos across the plant and animal kingdoms—from “aww” to “eek”!
The Eltham copper butterfly and the Notoncus ant are BFFs for life. The ants lovingly raise the butterflies’ caterpillar babies, while feasting on the sweet substance the caterpillars produce. Everybody wins in this prime example of mutualism.
The pseudoscorpian is a total freeloader. When it wants to get around, it boards the back of the giant harlequin beetle, in a one-sided setup called commensalism.
Parasitism is where things get spooky. Learn how the green-banded broodsac (a type of flatworm) first invades the eyestalk of the amber snail, then tricks it into getting eaten by a bird—inside which the broodsac will grow up. Yikes!
Award-winning author and illustrator Sami Bayly shows us a whole world of wild companions like these—many endangered—and reminds us that we're all inseparable.
Publisher’s A Curious Collection of Wild Companions was previously published in Australia as The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Peculiar Pairs in Nature.
Relationships can be complicated, and it’s no different in the wild. Meet 60 dynamic duos across the plant and animal kingdoms—from “aww” to “eek”!
The Eltham copper butterfly and the Notoncus ant are BFFs for life. The ants lovingly raise the butterflies’ caterpillar babies, while feasting on the sweet substance the caterpillars produce. Everybody wins in this prime example of mutualism.
The pseudoscorpian is a total freeloader. When it wants to get around, it boards the back of the giant harlequin beetle, in a one-sided setup called commensalism.
Parasitism is where things get spooky. Learn how the green-banded broodsac (a type of flatworm) first invades the eyestalk of the amber snail, then tricks it into getting eaten by a bird—inside which the broodsac will grow up. Yikes!
Award-winning author and illustrator Sami Bayly shows us a whole world of wild companions like these—many endangered—and reminds us that we're all inseparable.
Publisher’s A Curious Collection of Wild Companions was previously published in Australia as The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Peculiar Pairs in Nature.
128 pages, Hardcover
Published September 27, 2022
2 people are currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Sami Bayly
10 books20 followersSami is 27 years old and is currently based in Newcastle, NSW.
She has released 4 books, 3 of which are part of The Illustrated Encyclopaedia series: The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Ugly Animals, The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Dangerous Animals and The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Peculiar Pairs in Nature.
With her 4th being the first of a newly released series, How We Came To Be - Surprising Sea Creatures.
All published by Lothian/Hachette Australia.
Over the years Sami has won and been nominated for numerous awards, these include:
Winner of the Children's Indie Book of the Year Award - Indie Book Awards
Winner of the Environmental Award for Children’s Literature Non-fiction - The Wilderness Society
Winner of the Sun Project Shadow Judging - Shadowers’ Choice for the Eve Pownall Award - CBCA
Winner of the Best Designed Children’s Non-Fiction Illustrated book - Australian Book Design Awards.
2020 GOLD Winner for the Juvenile Non-Fiction Award - Foreword Reviews
Honour for the Eve Pownall Award - CBCA
Shortlisted for the Book of the Year for Younger Children - ABIA’s
Shortlisted for the Booksellers' Choice 2020 Book of the Year Awards - ABA’s
Shortlisted for the Children’s Book of The Year - Queensland Literacy Awards
Highly Commended for the NSW Community Educator of the Year - AAEE
Longlisted for the World Illustration Awards (Science & Technology category) - Association of Illustrators
Included in the top 50 Favourite Australian Books - Booktopia
Winner of the Emerging Artist Competition - The Olive Tree Market
Winner of the Start Your Studio Scholarship Award - Jasco Art
Winner of the William Fletcher Foundation Fund - University of Newcastle
Co-winner of the Scientific Illustration Scholarship - Australian Museum
Her books have also been published overseas in numerous countries including the UK, USA, South Korea and Russia. With future publications to be released in Sweden, Israel, China and more.
To keep up to date you can follow Sami on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samibayly/
She has released 4 books, 3 of which are part of The Illustrated Encyclopaedia series: The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Ugly Animals, The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Dangerous Animals and The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Peculiar Pairs in Nature.
With her 4th being the first of a newly released series, How We Came To Be - Surprising Sea Creatures.
All published by Lothian/Hachette Australia.
Over the years Sami has won and been nominated for numerous awards, these include:
Winner of the Children's Indie Book of the Year Award - Indie Book Awards
Winner of the Environmental Award for Children’s Literature Non-fiction - The Wilderness Society
Winner of the Sun Project Shadow Judging - Shadowers’ Choice for the Eve Pownall Award - CBCA
Winner of the Best Designed Children’s Non-Fiction Illustrated book - Australian Book Design Awards.
2020 GOLD Winner for the Juvenile Non-Fiction Award - Foreword Reviews
Honour for the Eve Pownall Award - CBCA
Shortlisted for the Book of the Year for Younger Children - ABIA’s
Shortlisted for the Booksellers' Choice 2020 Book of the Year Awards - ABA’s
Shortlisted for the Children’s Book of The Year - Queensland Literacy Awards
Highly Commended for the NSW Community Educator of the Year - AAEE
Longlisted for the World Illustration Awards (Science & Technology category) - Association of Illustrators
Included in the top 50 Favourite Australian Books - Booktopia
Winner of the Emerging Artist Competition - The Olive Tree Market
Winner of the Start Your Studio Scholarship Award - Jasco Art
Winner of the William Fletcher Foundation Fund - University of Newcastle
Co-winner of the Scientific Illustration Scholarship - Australian Museum
Her books have also been published overseas in numerous countries including the UK, USA, South Korea and Russia. With future publications to be released in Sweden, Israel, China and more.
To keep up to date you can follow Sami on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samibayly/
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 27, 2025
What a delightful concept of a book! I was unaware of so many of these special relationships, even if I was familiar with one or more of the parties involved. It´s perfectly laid out and explained, the illustrations are beautiful, and I loved the fun facts at the end of each chapter. So, so, enjoyable to read, and every chapter brought me a new discovery!
March 13, 2024
A wonderfully illustrated nonfiction science book for kids (but adults will like it too). Full of interesting examples of plants and animals that are connected in various ways (mutualism, commensalism, parasitism). Full of facts and details for nature lovers!
September 26, 2023
Sami Bayly provides 2 page spreads for various species from all over the world with a full page illustration of the 2 (sometimes 3) species and on the other page highlights their inseparable relationship (whether positive, negative, or neutral) and gives a little more information on each species' conservation status, their eating habits, their typical habitat, and a couple fun facts.
Bayly's illustrations are incredibly well done and the information provided is interesting and readable. You can sit down and read this cover to cover, or just consult it for research on certain species. This is written for an adult audience, but it would be approachable to YA and upper middle graders. I liked that the examples included all sorts of species, both animals and plants. I've had Bayly's books on my radar for a while, and I'm glad I purchased this one for our Secondary Media Center. I need to add the rest of Bayly's books soon.
Bayly's illustrations are incredibly well done and the information provided is interesting and readable. You can sit down and read this cover to cover, or just consult it for research on certain species. This is written for an adult audience, but it would be approachable to YA and upper middle graders. I liked that the examples included all sorts of species, both animals and plants. I've had Bayly's books on my radar for a while, and I'm glad I purchased this one for our Secondary Media Center. I need to add the rest of Bayly's books soon.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews