Book Review: The Secret Life of the Forest

July 21, 2025 by Sarah White Leave a Comment

Trees are an essential part of nature, both for the oxygen they produce and the habitats they provide to animals. But if you don’t live near a forest you might not think about all that happens within them very much.

The Secret Life of the Forest: Trees, Animals and Fungi, by Klára Holik, Ivi Niesner and Jana Sedlácková explores the inner workings of the forest, from the biggest trees to the smallest parasites, answering questions about the forest and sharing basic information about different kinds of forests, the water cycle, how to visit the forest and more. It’s aimed at kids ages 6 to 9.

It starts at the beginning with information on where seeds come from, how pollination happens and different creatures (and mechanisms like wind) that help move tree seeds and other seeds around in different forests. It talks about photosynthesis, how trees communicate with each other, tree rings, layers of the forest, how tree seeds move and how fungi and trees help each other.

Readers will learn about the oldest known fungus in the world, how ants help other animals to reproduce and what plant and animal parasites make trouble in the forest.

The book also covers decomposition, an overview of forest types from around the world (including the heaviest living organism), how fire affects forests, animals of the rainforest and swamp and ways people use wood.

Information is presented in bite-sized segments, with cartoony illustrations that are somewhat accurate to nature. You can check out some of the pages and watch a flip through on the publisher’s website.

It also includes forest experiments kids can try, such as building bird houses, looking for springs and checking ingredients on snack foods for palm oil, which comes from the rainforest. There’s also information on the best way to visit the forest to be respectful of the organisms that live there.

In the back you’ll find a glossary of some of the important words included in the book, and there’s a QR code teachers or parents can scan to get more information or learning resources.

This book provides a nice overview of life in the forest and how the plants and animals work together to keep it growing the way it needs to. It also covers a little bit of what humans can do to protect the forests we have left.

About the book: 64 pages, hardcover. Published 2024 by Albatross Books. Suggested retail price $18.95

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Book Review: The No-Brainer Brain Explainer

Human brains are pretty amazing, allowing us to think, feel, create, communicate, move and more. But humans aren’t the only animals with cool brains, as Crab Museum explains in the book The No-Brainer Brain Explainer (illustrated by Bruno Valasse).

This book, aimed at kids in grades 1-4, is colorful and silly but also educational about how brains actually work, with billions of neurons sending electrical and chemical signals around the body.

“Everything we think, feel and experience comes from an electrical relay race, with neurons passing chemical batons to each other,” the book says. “The constant chatter of billions of brain cells creates your entire world.”

The book compares the brains of mammals to those of crabs (the book is “written” by a crab after all) and notes that crabs have fewer neurons and of course are much smaller, but they have separate parts of their brains that control their eyes and their legs. Crabs are also capable of remembering things, using tools and solving puzzles.

Some animals’ brains allow them to know more about their world in different ways from humans, such as spiders being sensitive to vibrations in their webs and catfish having an amazing sense of taste, with taste sensors all over their bodies.

It notes that 95 percent of brain activity goes toward things we do unconsciously, like breathing, walking and catching a ball flying toward us. It also talks about dreams, memory, how our emotions try to predict the future, where brains came from and fun facts about brains. For example, did you know a sperm whale is believed to have the biggest brain of any creature that’s even lived? Their brains weigh 18 pounds, compared to just 2.5 pounds for humans.

Information on what creatures have the smallest brains, the toughest brains, the most brains and those who actually eat their own brains will delight kids (and maybe gross them out a little bit). They’ll also enjoy learning about the mycelium network of fungi, which is like a brain without a body, and slime molds, which are like a brain without a brain.

It ends talking about why human brains are so special because we’ve found ways to work together, communicate and build communities on a scale bigger than any other animal.

Kids and adults alike will enjoy this colorful, silly and informational book about brains!

About the book: 64 pages, hardcover. Published 2026 by Wide Eyed Editions. Suggested retail price $19.99.

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