Platypus

A platypus, “one of the world’s most puzzling animals,” leaves its burrow, dives underwater, and scurries through its Australian habitat in this intriguing portrait of a singular species. Whiting (The Firefighters) works in dual narratives—the main one follows this specific platypus’s day, while supplemental text intersperses details about the creature’s unusual characteristics (“Platypuses are one of the few venomous mammals in the world”; “Their tails store most of their fat”). Jackson, who recently offered an intimate look at another Australian animal in Bilby, creates a lush marshland environment in mixed-media images rendered in smudgy earth tones. Ages 5–9. (Feb.)