Using playful text, detailed research and little-known facts, distinguished children’s author Owen Reeder brings animals’ lives to life. Topics such as choosing a mate, home selection and building, family life and parental habits are explored. Also by Owen Reeder is Sensational Australian Animals, which makes an excellent pairing with Peculiar Parents.
Artist Bartkowiak’s superb watercolour illustrations are delightful visual representations of the animal families in the spotlight. Each artwork is presented as a portrait in a picture frame, like those we might display in our homes, reminding us of the connection between humans and the rest of the animal kingdom.
Fabulous for readers interested in animals, Peculiar Parents is already a hit in my Year 1/2 class library: students have been bookmarking pages and sharing snippets when they should be silently reading. You’ll find a digital classroom module for Years 3-6 as well as teachers’ notes here. Further Peculiar Parents is the perfect companion for Australia’s National Science Week which runs from August 15 to 23, 2026.
Peculiar Parents is the winner of the 2026 ACT Literary Awards, Children’s Literature, Non-Fiction. It has also been shortlisted for the 2026 Children’s Book Council of Australia Eve Pownall Award.
Title: Peculiar Parents
Author: Stephanie Owen Reeder
Illustrator: Ingrid Bartkowiak
Publisher: National Library of Australia, $29.99
Publication Date: 1 July 2025
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781922507822
For ages: 6+
Type: Junior Non-Fiction
