As we reach the halfway point of 2025 we have another exciting group of books to share.
Enjoy!
The Secret of Whylder Wood
By Elaine Ramsey
Park Woods and Whylder Wood have long been safe havens for the creatures living there. But peace has bred complacency, and now a dark threat festers deep in the woodland, spreading a poison that infects both bodies and minds—starting with a colony of rats.
When Cory, a well-loved hedgehog, discovers the poisoned stream and the bodies of affected animals, he feels compelled to act. Despite his doubts, Cory rallies a reluctant group of apathetic, meek, and traumatised creatures to confront this growing menace.
Against overwhelming odds, can Cory’s unlikely army march to defend their home?
The Golden Toad
By Trevor Ritland and Kyle Ritland
The Costa Rican cloud forest. A mysterious amphibian killer. A vanished species. In The Golden Toad, twin documentarians Trevor and Kyle Ritland follow in their father’s footsteps—and into the heart of the extinction crisis.
As kids, they were captivated by the golden toad, a dazzling amphibian their biologist father showed them in slide shows. Native to a single ridgeline above Monteverde’s cloud forests, golden toads once gathered by the thousands to mate in ephemeral pools—until they suddenly vanished over thirty years ago. Since then, only rumors remain. Could the golden toad still be alive?
Backed by Leonardo DiCaprio’s Re:wild campaign, Trevor and Kyle embark on a search for truth. Trevor, guided by Costa Rican naturalists including the last person to see the toad alive, hunts for survivors. Kyle investigates the killer. Their paths converge in a forest threatened by pandemic, climate change, and loss.
But this is more than a search for a lost species. The Golden Toad explores environmental grief, resilience, and the possibility of resurrection. It’s a story of vanishing life—and of the hope that lingers in its absence.
Free Bird: Flaco the Owl’s Dreams Take Flight
By Christine Mott
Free Bird is an inspiring picture book based on a true story for children ages 4-8 chronicling the adventures of Flaco the owl as he escapes from a zoo to follow his dreams of flying free and enjoying freedom in the wilds of NYC.
Flaco, a brave and determined owl, dreams of breaking free from his cage at the zoo and soaring through the sky. One day, he seizes the opportunity to escape and finally experience the freedom he has always longed for. Follow Flaco as he navigates the bustling streets of New York City, learns to fly, and makes new friends along the way.
Through Flaco’s eyes, children will learn the importance of following their dreams and showing compassion for wild animals. This heartwarming tale is beautifully illustrated and will leave a lasting impression on readers of all ages. Join Flaco on his incredible adventure and be inspired to reach for the stars!
50% of author’s book royalties will be donated to the Wild Bird Fund, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that rehabilitates sick, injured and orphaned wildlife and releases them back to the wilds of New York City.
The Zoo Diaries
By Keri Pauli
The Rainriver Zoological park is home to a wild cast of animals, from the hyena desperately looking for her cubs to the macaque searching for his next cup of coffee. A bored elephant passes her time counting whatever she can get her trunk on. A lion who has never seen freedom pines for the far-off veldt. And a duplicitous crow hops from cage to cage in search of victims for her next prank.
Life in the zoo is woven of tedium and despair, but when one of the animals escapes, his quest to reunite with his lost love turns the entire zoo on its end. While the whole park searches for the errant tortoise, a video contest inspires a massive surge in zoo admissions, and the added pressure builds like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
Passed from one cage to the next, The Zoo Diaries is a tale of animals. It is a tale of humanity. It is a tale of justice that arrives like a shot in the night… or doesn’t arrive at all.
10,000BC
By Rosalynd Brooks
10,000BC tells you all you need to know about agroecology, what was wrong with the green revolution, and how we can avoid another. Accessible and fun to read 10,000BC travels back in time exploring our relationship with the earth. What does an agroecological model look like? How do we make organic food for all a reality?
10,000BC introduces the idea of ‘panic farming’. Historically, short termist solutions that create more problems in the long term have been touted as panaceas, but it is the slow and steady approach that will win the race. First it was population growth, now it is climate change. Do we really need to resort to panic farming when agroecology offers solutions to these crises?
As COP28 recognises the need to sustainable agriculture, what does that mean for a country like Britain where 83% of its citizens live in the city and less than 1% of us are farmers? The emerging theory supported by a number of stakeholders, farmers, and policy makers, is that we need a smallholder revolution: a million new farmers to work the land. How practical is this suggestion? Even if we recruited enough farmers, can agrocecological solutions feed the world?
Book website (pay what you can)
John is co-author, with Midge Raymond, of the Tasmanian mystery Devils Island. He is also author of the novels The Tourist Trail and Where Oceans Hide Their Dead. Co-founder of Ashland Creek Press and editor of Writing for Animals (also now a writing program).
