We humans often think of ourselves as far removed from animals, so different that they couldn’t possibly share anything that would help us live our lives better.
But as Kate Siber notes in her book (illustrated by Kaitlynn Copithorne) The Hidden Wisdom of Animals: Surprising Things We Can Learn from Nature, many animals have traits that we would do well to copy.
The book includes information about 44 different animals and how their lives exhibit a character trait that’s also good for humans. Owls known how to listen, spiders know how to create, octopuses know how to be different, bears know how to rest, lobsters know how to keep growing, and turtles know how to protect themselves, to name a few.
The stories are present in short paragraphs or poems exploring what’s special about that animal. For example the section “penguins know how to be devoted” covers how penguin dads carry their eggs on their feet to keep them warm and how both parents work hard to keep their babies safe, warm and fed.
The section “oysters know how to transform their world” is written as a letter to the oyster thanking them for being amazing filters of ocean water and turning minor annoyances into things of beauty.
The illustrations cover the page around the text (and some animals, like octopuses and monarch butterflies) get a full page for another illustration without any text.
Most of the animals featured are probably ones that you and your kids will know, but there might be a few you aren’t familiar with, like the tutara, a lizard-like reptile that only lives in New Zealand.
The book ends with a reminder that humans are animals, too, and we can use our gifts to help protect these and other animals throughout the world.
The Hidden Wisdom of Animals is a sweet meditation on the human-like qualities that animals can posses and gives us space to think about how we can choose to be more like animals in some of these ways.
About the book: 112 pages, hardcover. Published 2025 by Wide-Eyed Editions. Suggested retail price $24.99.
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