Otherlands - An illustrated journey through Earth's lost worlds

Dive into a sea of glass reefs, emerging from the water to see monkeys fighting for survival on an accidental raft . . .

Travel millions of years into the past, and explore worlds you might only have dreamt of, but that actually existed.

From woolly mammoths to early humans, find out how plants and trees and creatures great and small shared a world very different from our own.

And uncover the footprints they left behind . . .

Starting with the last ice age and ending when the very first animals started to swim and hunt, this illustrated journey back through time is adapted from the bestselling Otherlands by Thomas Halliday. It is written by the author, with illustrations by Gavin Scott.<>

About the author

Thomas Halliday is an Honorary Research Fellow at the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Birmingham. His PhD won the Linnean Society's John C. Marsden Medal for the best thesis in the biological sciences in the UK, and he won the Hugh Miller Writing Competition in 2018. He is also the author of the Sunday Times bestselling Otherlands. He was raised in Rannoch in the Scottish Highlands, and now lives in London with his family.Gavin Scott was born in Wiltshire and raised in rural Dorset, UK. He was fascinated by the natural world from an early age and spent much of his childhood drawing and painting animals and birds. He later studied BA Natural History Illustration at Bournemouth Arts University. Working as an illustrator in-house for a number of years, honing his skills in character design, his style gradually evolved from scientific into children’s picture books.

He now lives in Somerset with his wife, who is also an illustrator, and their growing family. When he’s not working he loves rock climbing on the Dorset coast and riding and fettling his old Triumph motorbike.

Product details

• Authors: Thomas Halliday
• Assisted by: Scott Gavin (Illustration)
• Publisher: Puffin UK
• Languages: English
• Age Recommendation: ages 8 to 11
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 25.09.2025
• EAN: 9780241611241
• ISBN: 978-0-241-61124-1
• No. of pages: 112
• Dimensions: 237 mm x 311 mm x 10 mm
• Subjects: Children's and young people's books > Non-fiction books / Non-fiction picture books > Natural science, technology; prehistory, History & the past: general interest (Children's / Teenage), JUVENILE NONFICTION / Science & Nature / Biology, JUVENILE NONFICTION / History / Prehistoric, Children’s / Teenage general interest: Wildlife and habitats, Interest age: from c 8 years, Children’s / Teenage general interest: History and the past, Dinosaurs & prehistoric world (Children's / Teenage), Children’s / Teenage general interest: Physical world