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In Book Takes, authors share three things readers will gain from their books as well as an insight into what they learnt during the researching and writing. This week, Ned Barraud on butterflies that taste with their feet, bumblebees that can see the ultraviolet colours of a flower, and how godwits use the Earth’s magnetic field to navigate from Alaska to New Zealand.
Tasting with Your Feet, by author and illustrator Ned Barraud, explores the ways animals use sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch and other sensory abilities to make sense of the world.
Barraud says the idea for the book came late one evening: “As always after finishing a book, I’m left with the classic question: ‘Okay, now, what next?’ I racked my brain for inspiration, but nothing seemed to come. Just when I had resigned myself to thinking I’d finished my last book ever, an idea hit me in the middle of the night: comparing how we use our senses to how other animals experience their worlds.”
Next was the “super tricky task” of simplifying the complex subject into a book for kids.
“It was a challenging endeavour, but I loved the research and discovered some amazing things about both humans and the animals with whom we share this world.”
Here, he shares three insights into the book as well as one thing he learnt during its researching and writing.
We have super sharp vision
It’s easy to live in our own version of reality and forget that we experience only a tiny fraction of the available sensory information. Our eyes can see only a narrow slice of the light spectrum, missing out on infrared and ultraviolet light. There’s a whole world of colours we can’t perceive. However, despite this limitation, our vision is incredibly sharp. In fact, only birds of prey such as eagles and condors have better eyesight than us.
What the heck is proprioception?
Before researching this book, I was unaware of some senses crucial for our everyday lives. One such sense is proprioception, a term that’s as tricky to explain as it is to pronounce. Simply put, proprioception is the sense that tells us where our body is in space. It allows us to automatically and instantly perform complex tasks, such as touching the tip of our nose with our finger, without having to consciously think about it. Without this sense, we’d struggle to stand upright and would be constantly falling over.
What does a magnetic field look like to a sea turtle?
It’s fascinating to learn about senses that are completely alien to us, such as the ability to sense magnetic fields. I enjoyed illustrating and learning about creatures with these extraordinary abilities, such as honeybees, which have tiny magnetic compasses to help navigate. Sea turtles also use magnetic fields to traverse vast oceans without getting lost. While we know they can sense these fields, we still don’t fully understand how they “see” them.
What I learnt
Coming from an art background, I initially focused solely on illustrating the books I worked on. It wasn’t until later in my career that I realised that to truly bring my own ideas to life, I needed to embrace both writing and illustrating. It’s undoubtedly a challenge, but I’ve learnt that if you’re passionate about the subject matter, you can trust that everything will come together in the end. The process can be long and solitary, but when that moment arrives – unboxing the first copy from the publisher – the struggle feels all completely worthwhile. And then, just when you’re convinced that you’ll never produce another book in your life, another idea will hit you in the middle of the night, ready to spark your next adventure.
Tasting with Your Feet: The Amazing Ways Animals Make Sense of the World, by Ned Barraud (Potton & Burton, $21.99) is out now.
