The Children's Wainwright Prize for Non-Fiction

Shortlist 2025

Wildlife in the Balance

By Dr Sharon Wismer and Terri Po

Meet some of our planet’s most important animals and discover the remarkable ways they are helping save our planet. Learn about 12 keystone species around the world from elephants to wolves, honeybees to beavers. The book will introduce readers to keystone animals across all the five major biomes (aquatic, grassland, forest, desert, and tundra) with facts about wildlife, habitats, and modern conservation practices to protect these species.

Sharon Wismer
Terri Po

About Dr Sharon Wismer and Terri Po

Sharon Wismer is a scientist, children’s book author and mother who enjoys sharing her passion for wildlife and science. She is currently funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation and leads a science communication project at the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Sharon obtained her PhD in 2017. As a marine biologist, her research focused on the behavioural ecology of reef fishes and the impacts of mass coral bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef. Her scientific work has been published in many peer-reviewed international journals, while her children’s books, Keepers of the Reef and When Nature Runs Wild, aim to make emerging science accessible and exciting for children.

Terri Po grew up in Hong Kong and studied illustration at the University of Edinburgh, and now lives and works from a wooden cabin in the countryside. She likes drawing anything blobby, including but not limited to: brains, intestines and liverworts.

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