View source for Lots – The Diversity of Life on Earth by Nicola Davies and Emily Sutton

{{infobox1
|title= Lots – The Diversity of Life on Earth 
|author= Nicola Davies and Emily Sutton
|reviewer= Anne Thompson
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|summary= Visually stunning, a wonderful exploration of the natural world and an introduction to biodiversity this gorgeous book is full of facts that will encourage children to find out more.  This is children's non-fiction at its very best, inspiring, informative and beautiful.
|rating=5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=40
|publisher=Walker Books
|date=April 2017
|isbn=978-1406360486
|website=http://www.nicola-davies.com/
|aznuk=1406360481
|aznus=1406360481
|cover=1406360481 
}}

'''Longlisted for the 2018 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal'''

How many different kinds of living things are there on Earth? Lots…that's how many. Children will learn lots and lots from this wonderful book. I learned lots from it too.  There are 100,000 different kinds of mushrooms. Who knew? Well I certainly didn't. This is one of those special books with cross-over appeal. Tiny children will adore the illustrations, slightly older ones will learn fascinating facts and readers of any age will be moved by the message that we need to take better care of our beautiful environment. 

This is a gorgeously presented book. The cover is simply beautiful and every single page is a riot of vibrant colour as the author and illustrator take us on a journey around the world. On the first page we meet a small girl who stands next to an insect and then a flower as she counts the living things. As the reader turns the pages we discover that there are LOTS of living things of many different types. It's a nice touch leaving the little girl unnamed as it enables the child reading to become her as they learn with her.  Like a diminutive David Attenborough the girl explores deserts, islands, jungles and oceans making notes of what she discovers on the way. The text is at a perfect level for very young children with additional information added within the illustrations for those who want to find out more. 

Life cycles are presented in a simple way and there is an emphasis on the interconnection of the many diverse living things included in the book.  I particularly liked the way in which it encourages browsing and repeated closer looks at the exquisite illustrations. There are creatures included that I had never heard of and I wanted to find out more about the Siau Island Tarsier and Blue-eyed Cuscus for example.  There is a very important message here about man's destruction of natural habitats but the tone is just right for its intended audience.  The contrast between the double paged spread of the jungle crammed with wildlife and the little girl alone on her page is very thought provoking. The endpapers are made up of a multitude of animals and I found myself trying to recognise them from the text.  Another valuable learning opportunity for children!

This large format hardback would make a very special gift for a child. It would be especially valuable in schools and is a must buy for primary school libraries. I understand that the publishers are to make teaching resources linked to the book available on their website which is a great idea.

This is a treat of a book and I would highly recommend it.  Thank you to the publishers, Walker Books, for providing this review copy. 
Another lovely illustrated non-fiction book for budding biologists is [[The Big Book of Beasts (Big Books) by Yuval Zommer]].

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[[Category:For Sharing]]
[[Category:Nicola Davies]]
[[Category:Emily Sutton]]