Can Animals Think?

Can Animals Think?

Emily Bone

Wazza Pink

Usborne, 2026

16pp., board book., RRP $A19.99

9781805074052

It begins, “Can animals think? The truth is we don’t know. But what we do know is that some animals APPEAR to be extremely intelligent and think things through…”  

It continues with fascinating snippets about creatures that can make tools, have really good memories, collaborate, co-operate, and communicate with each other, have fun, and even problem solve.  And while some have had to change the way they live because of humans, some have learned how to use humans for their own ends! 

Although some of our younger readers might already appreciate the intelligence of the octopus through stories like The Den that Octopus Built, The Octopus’s Trick and Song of a Thousand Seas, they can learn about other creatures who are just as smart like the orangutans who make leaf umbrellas to prevent getting wet during tropical storms and humpback whales work together to catch scattering fish. 

Capitalising on the interactivity of the lift-the-flap format, there are statements and questions on display that entice the reader to lift the flap to find out more, further consolidating the concept that this format is not just the domain of the very young but an effective way to engage the reader with the print and the information.  It’s also an effective teaching tool as students take what they have learned to the next level to create ‘an extra page’ for the book.  For example, as well as the octopus, New Caledonian crow, archerfish, capuchin monkey and chimpanzee all using tools to access their food, what other creatures also do so? How do they do it?  Purposeful, in-context investigations, as well as a useful, shared product all help build that essential creative and critical literacy we are striving for.  To begin their thinking, there are the usual Quicklinks that accompany Usborne books.

But for those who want to take it even further, there is the opportunity for further investigation as students might want to compare animal thinking with human thinking and identify ways that humans make tools, communicate, collaborate and so forth.  And if your school is one that has an overt focus on how humans learn and the students understand concepts such as Gardner’s multiple intelligences, or other neuroscience theories, then this could be a way to deepen that understanding of their choices and behaviours.  What do we know and do that sets us apart from the animal kingdom?