Humans & Animals
A book you can spend hours flicking through.
People rely on animals. We cuddle our dogs, ride horses, eat eggs and drink milk. But do animals rely on us humans? Stern Nijland’s fact-filled book, complete with realistic illustrations, sets out the many ways in which people’s and animals’ lives are intertwined.
Splash! Did you know that many seagulls suffer from diarrhoea? They eat far too many chips and other fatty foods humans leave behind. And why is Colombia home to 160 hippos? They were secretly imported by Pablo Escobar, a drug lord, to create his very own zoo... until they escaped!
Humans and animals have lived side by side since records began. This book offers an in-depth exploration of that relationship. How we collaborate and co-exist. How we treat wild and domesticated animals. How we look up to them. How we use them. How similar humans and animals really are. And how animals have come to rely on humans.
Mens en dier is a fully-formed animal fact book, each page as compelling as the next. Nijland invites the reader to absorb and reflect on philosophical questions – “Do you think people are taking good care of the planet?” – as well as the many facts present throughout the book. Just why do people get goosebumps? The realistic drawings make the reading experience even more enjoyable.
An educational and engaging book for independent or shared reading by children aged 8 and up.
Thoroughly engaging animal fact book
Suitable for classroom use
Features large illustrations of fascinating animals
Author-illustrator Stern Nijland, winner of a Zilveren Griffel award, grew up in the province of Friesland, surrounded by animals and wildflowers, and studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Groningen. Her love of nature has remained a constant and lies at the heart of her work as an illustrator and picture book writer. Together with Linda de Haan, she created King & King, an acclaimed picture book that travelled the world. The Animal Book of Death (2024) was her first non-fiction title for Lemniscaat, combining her own text with richly detailed illustrations, and was followed by Humans & Animals (2025). These books are light in tone yet thought-provoking. Kiki and the Frog Choir will be published, a picture book about equality and daring to sing your own song, will be published in spring 2026.