Going to the zoo isn’t the only way you can learn more about animals. Even at the zoo, there are things that you can’t learn about – like how animals nurse their offspring. If you’re curious, Gakken – a publisher in Japan – has released an educational animal picture book teaching kids all about animals breastfeeding.
Image credit: PR Times
Gakken is a leading Japanese publishing company that specialises in educational books, magazines, and toys. Recently, they released an educational picture book about breastfeeding in animals. It is titled “すごいな、お母さん！ どうぶつのおっぱいずかん” (Sugoi na, okaasan! Dōbutsu no oppai zukan), which loosely translates to “It’s amazing, mum! A picture book filled with animals’ breasts”.
The book is available on Amazon in both paperback and electronic formats. The paperback format is only available for sale within Japan.
Image credit: PR Times
The book covers breastfeeding in animals and the chapters are split according to the number of nipples the animal has – be it 2, 4, 6, or even more. While we appreciate the neat sorting system, this is an oddly specific topic to cover in an educational picture book for kids.
Image credit: PR Times
Image credit: PR Times
Besides having realistic illustrations with labels, the book also explains where each animal’s nipples are positioned, the reasons behind the positioning, and how the animals feed their young.
Image credit: PR Times
Did you know that the animal with the most number of nipples is the tenrec? They are commonly found in Africa and on average, they have 24 nipples. That’s because tenrecs give birth to as many as 32 in one litter and would need to feed all of them at the same time.
The book even breaks down the components of the animals’ breast milk and compares it to human breast milk.
Books about plants (left) and insects (right)
Image credit: @aya_ei.10
The new book is part of the Gakken Picture Book LIVE series, which covers topics such as insects, dinosaurs, and plants. Some of these books feature an interactive element using augmented reality, where the pictures of the animals come to life and become 3D just by scanning an icon.
Animals coming to life through augmented reality
Image credit: @haru2422
Book about male and female animals (left); Book about animals that look alike (right).
Image credit: PR Times
The writer of the new book on breastfeeding is Masae Takaoka while the illustrations were done by Ai Akikusa. Besides the new book, they also wrote and illustrated 2 other animal-related books. These 2 other books are about how to differentiate between male and female animals and between animals that look alike.
Differentiating between male and female koalas
Image credit: PR Times
Differentiating between a seal and a sea-lion
Image credit: PR Times
Some of the similar-looking animals include the seal and sea-lion, and the leopard and cheetah.
Differentiating between a leopard and a cheetah
Image credit: PR Times
These books make learning about animals more fun. Knowing how to differentiate between animals that look alike and their genders is also interesting general knowledge.
Despite being an oddly specific topic, the book would probably interest animal lovers and kids because of its realistic illustrations. It is an alternative way to learn about animals without having to go to the zoo.
Check out these other articles for more interesting news:
Cover image adapted from: @j_heemang and @hedgehogsofasgard
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