Find fantastic free resources and discover new books from award-winning authors

Books

Wild Crossings

Rachel Ip, Author

Katie Hickey, Illustrator

Imprint: Hodder Children's Books

Publication date: August 28, 2025

Category: Wildlife (Children's / Teenage)

ISBN: 9781526365286

Imprint: Hodder Children's Books

Publication date: April 24, 2025

Category: Wildlife (Children's / Teenage)

ISBN: 9781526365262

Why did the . . .
Sloth
Tortoise
Elephant
. . . cross the road?

All over the world, animals are constantly on the move, travelling to find mates, forage for food and seek safety and shelter. But what happens when man-made barriers get in the way? From motorways and railways to housing developments and gas pipelines, humans have made it harder for animals to get to where they need to go.

But now humans are reconnecting wild spaces and helping animals of all shapes and sizes find safe passage. They’re using overpasses, underpasses, rope bridges and ingenious engineering to move between fragmented forests and habitats. From tiny toadlets to the world’s largest mammals, animals cross over and under, up above and down below.

With 18 true stories of animal crossings written by Rachel Ip and brought to life by Katie Hickey’s artwork, Wild Crossings is the perfect blend of engineering and nature stories for children.

Rachel Ip

Rachel Ip is an award-winning picture book author and author ambassador for Bring Me a Book Hong Kong, the leading family literacy charity in Hong Kong. Rachel was born in the UK and also lived in France and Belgium before moving to Hong Kong 15 years ago. The Forgettery won the 2022 English Association Picture Book Awards and The Last Garden was longlisted for the 2021 Klaus Flugge Prize and won the Crystal Kite Award for Middle East, India, and Asia.

Katie Hickey

Katie is a freelance illustrator who graduated from Falmouth University in beautiful (and slightly soggy) Cornwall, England in 2016.

Having grown up in Cornwall, and also in the middle-east, Katie takes inspiration from her travels and surroundings to create characterful and atmospheric images. She particularly loves creating illustrations about the quirky stories and characters she meets along the way. Her work deals with both narrative and information and often combines the two.