Title: Made for Each Other
Author: Joanna McInerney
Illustrator: Georgina Taylor
Published: April 2021
Publisher: Big Picture Press
Readership: Children’s Picturebook
Genre: Non-Fiction
Rating: ★★★★★
RRP: $32.99
I received a copy of Made For Each Other from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Take a moment to marvel at the wonders of nature in this book that explores symbiotic relationships between organisms.
Stunning illustrations by debut artist Georgina Taylor capture these astonishing moments in the wild. The ideal gift for nature lovers.
Over the last 12 months I’ve really become invested in children’s non-fiction books, for a lot of reasons: kids are deeply fascinated by the world around them and look to books to help them explore that wonder, they’re powerful tools to use in a classroom, and authors these days are really clever in how they present their information. To that end, I was eager to explore this book, which looks at the way two (or more) organisms work together in harmony to make their life easier.
The book itself is broken into four sections:
- Into the forest
- Beneath the waves
- Across the plains
- Under the canopy
And, within each section, there are between four and seven examples of symbiotic relationships between animals and plants. (There’s also a handy, easy to understand, definition of symbiosis for anyone who needs it.)
The page layout includes a double page ‘section’ title, and then each symbiotic relationship is explored in a double page layout featuring an ‘illustration’ page and a page that explains the relationship. Being a non-fiction title, and a science one at that, we get the common name and the scientific names included, which aims this non-fiction title at a slightly old audience (middle grade and above readers would enjoy this one).
While we’re talking about illustrations – this book is visually stunning. Georgina Taylor’s artwork is lifelike and captivating. There is so much detail in the pictures that you’ll be leaning in closely to see if there’s anything you’ve missed. Not only does she depict the animals, plants and organisms being discussed, but also their habitat, and that truly draws you in to the magnificent worlds we’re exploring in this book.
While I was aware of some of the symbiotic relationships explored in this text, there were some that were new to me, like the relationship between grey wolves and ravens, ostriches and zebras and three-toed sloths and algae. It was a lot of fun to explore and learn a few new facts about our amazing plant and animal world.
This is a must-have for non-fiction lovers.
Noveltea Corner 
