We Travel So Far

To young children, animal migration is both wondrous and mysterious. How do geese know that it is time to fly south? How do common toads find their way back to the ponds in which they were hatched in order to breed? Following an introduction which explains the various reasons for migration, We Travel So Far highlights the migrations of 25 different animals from all around the world, representing birds, insects, fish, amphibians, mammals, reptiles and crustaceans. The animals are grouped by sea, air and land migrations with one animal featured per double-page spread.

Use of the first person plural and descriptive words adds to the reader’s enjoyment of the book. For instance, ruby-throated hummingbirds are described as “tiny bundles of nectar-fueled energy” while monarch butterflies are “clouds of fluttering, orange beauty” and desert locusts are “a swarming sea of gobbling grasshoppers”. The text layout is strategic as well in that its placement (sentences separated by a wide space and sometimes a sentence’s curved or wavy shape) causes the reader to slow down and pause between sentences, effectively making the prose sound more like poetry (“with pounding hooves we keep up our march, stumbling, rumbling, safety-in-numbering”) and causing the reader to ponder the information. One particularly interesting fact is that the once endangered whooping crane is making a comeback in increasing numbers. With the help of humans, a “whooping crane airplane” is “teaching” the cranes to follow former migration routes.

The illustrations suit the mood and pace of the text. Their colours are muted, shades of gray, teal, tan and green, with occasional bursts of vivid red or orange.

At the back of the book is a map of the world which invites readers to trace the migration routes of some of the animals mentioned in the book. A migration data sheet indicates each featured animal’s migration distance and area (e.g. from open ocean to lakes and streams, or a circular route following the rains of the Serengeti). Also provided is a table of contents.

Though there is not a huge amount of information in We Travel So Far, it is a perfect introduction to the epic journeys that many animals take and is most worthy of purchase.