A cool new picture book that presents deforestation from the animals' point of view. The colorful illustrations are really engaging, could be both a fun story and a good conversation starter.

I fully understand the importance of the topic at hand, but I think it might unfortunately come across as a little spooky for the young target audience. Even as an adult I found myself saying "oh my God this is taking a turn" when I realized what was happening. Of course we need to teach children about these things, but depending on the age, children might get the wrong impression and get stuck in the sadness/loss frame of mind.
While I admire the illustrators work, some of the illustrations were possibly a bit frightful as well, like the bear wearing the "human" mask. Some of the text was also a bit hard to read with the colorful background.
As a preschool teacher to 2-4 year olds, I'm not sure I'd be sold on introducing it to them. And if I did, I think I'd have to have a lot of additional conversations with them about what's being read.

Strange Creatures is a visually compelling and emotionally thoughtful picture book blends whimsy with the weighted theme of conservation and habitat destruction. It's an excellent choice for young readers (and the adults who read them) looking for a story that entertains, is visually appealing, as it teaches empathy and environmental awareness.

I loved the cover of this book, it drew my right in. I found the book hard to read though with the way the words were placed in the artwork. Some of the illustrations are lovely, but some I found confusing. The story was ok, but I did not have a strong response to it. There are better environmental books out there for young kids.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from the picture book Strange Creatures by Cristina Sitja Rubio and Cristóbal León, as I wasn't familiar with the author. While I appreciated the book’s underlying message of conservation, the fable itself didn’t quite resonate with me.

Strange Creatures - 3,25/5

"Our homes had disappeared.
Only their skeletons remained."

Strange Creatures, one day, stole the animals houses, while they were busy at a party. When the animals came back they were no homes left. They try to explain to the creatures that they need their homes. But to no avail. So they tried to build back with what was left : strange objects left here and there by the strange creatures. But this didn't work out in the end...

"But something wasn't right.
The houses fell over in the wind...
...and they gave us no fruit."

How do they try to fix this ? Make a plan, arrange a conversation with the Strange Creatures' guardians... Find a solution.

"We tried to speak to the strange creatures who had done this. (...) It was easier to communicate with the strange creatures' small guardians."

Strange Creatures is a contemporary story about how humans treat nature, the planet, the animals and forest nowadays, and since a long time. It's applicable to the global warming, displacement of living creatures (humans, animals, insects, plants), how they destroy humans and animals habitats. It's about how we should protect our Home, with a big H, meaning the planet, the natural habitats, constructions. A good little story with a very important environmental message. There are always consequences when we pick up, cut down, collect, ressources from some place : it ends up changed, ressourceless, disrupted. It could lead to permanent change and not in a good way. We have to keep communication open between humans, living forms and our shared home.

One small remark about the book, it's a bit hard to read the black text over some illustrations.