The Creatures' Guide to Caring: How Animal Parents Teach Us That Humans Were Born to Care

by Elizabeth Preston

A lively and revelatory journey through the evolution of caretaking on Earth, from animal parents to modern-day humans, making the case that caring for children and each other made us who we are

Poison frog fathers carry tadpoles on their backs. Killer whale grandmothers hunt to feed their adult sons. Tropical birds incubate their friends' eggs. Spider moms let their hatchlings eat them alive. Around the world, animals from the exotic to the familiar go to astonishing lengths to keep their young alive. Their biology, brains and behaviors show us what we have in common with other creatures, as well as what's unique about Homo sapiens.

With warmth, humor, and occasional run-ins with bodily fluids, science journalist Elizabeth Preston leads a highly accessible tour of cutting-edge research into how and why we and other animals care for young. She discovers that humans evolved to raise our kids in cooperative groups, and that the tools we've inherited for caretaking aren't only for moms or dads—they're the basis for our human society.

Genres: Nonfiction, Parenting, Animals, Science, Nature

416 pages, Hardcover

Published May 5, 2026

Reviews

[Vmndetta ᛑᛗᛛ · Rating 5 out of 5]

A straight 5⭐!

I picked up this book because I'm always curious about animals, and it didn't disappoint at all. This book is full of fascinating (sometimes unhinged and weird) examples of animal parents that made me go 'wait, WHAT???' and admire just how wild and unexpected caretaking in nature can be.

What really hooked me is the storytelling. The writing is super friendly, engaging, and often funny, so the science and research things never feels heavy or too boring even for me. I learned a lot about animal parenting while also gaining insight about how humans evolved to care for each other.

Another part I really loved was when the author meets researchers from different universities and places who study animals to understand their behavior. It made the science feel fun, engaging, and even more exciting. If you want a science book that is smart, entertaining, and full of wow or WOW moments, I highly recommend this book. (Anw, I still can't forget THAT ONE fact about seahorses.)

Also, the cute animal illustrations in every chapter made the reading experience even more fun!!!

[triceratops-stomp · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Creatures' Guide to Caring is a beautiful, fantastically compelling, and well-researched book! This novel pulls together stories from across the animal kingdom, most of which are snippets from studies and interviews with researchers. Together, it tells the both scientifically rigorous and emotionally compelling story of how creatures across the animal kingdom care for their children, and how we, as humans, came to be the parents we are today.

This book was so awesome and well-researched (and it had a precise and thorough bibliography!). And even beyond that, it was such a joy to read--the stories given a human cast, asking readers to consider science not just in terms of pure objectivity, but also through the lens of our humanity. In that vein, the book is delightfully informed by Preston's own experience as a human adult who has been subject to crying, sleepless nights, and numerous body fluids in the name of motherhood. A particular favorite quote of mine:

"Weird, worm-shaped amphibians called caecilians grow thicker skin as mothers (don't we all?)...Then the babies use specialized teeth to peel pieces of their mother's skin straight from her body and eat it. The mother survives this--physically, anyway."

I giggled and "aww"-ed and goggled at the bizarre and unique ways that animals care for their children. In addition, I learned so much from this book, things that I had literally had no idea about before, even as a semi-habitual pop science reader and, in the olden days, a science tumblr lurker. Preston presents all the information in a both approachable and scientifically accurate way. To me, this goes up there with "The Genius of Birds" by Jennifer Ackerman and "The Rise and Fall of the Dinosaurs" by Stephen Brusatte as my favorite pop science books of all time. Literally, ever since I started reading it, I've been randomly quoting the book and its stories to all my friends and family and having a GREAT time doing so. This book lives in my brain rent free. Please read it so it can live in your brain rent free too.

(I did receive a promotional copy from Netgalley for this book, thank you!)

[kylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 rounded to 5 ⭐️

The world is dark right now, and I needed this reminder that we can be good, helpful, and altruistic.

Sometimes it's for obvious evolutionary reasons (i.e. parents taking care of their own bio kids) but oftentimes a species' childrearing structure is creative bordering on seemingly nonsensical - at least to us. Preston guides us through the animal kingdom's numerous parenting styles, some of which we can see ourselves reflected, others not so much. There's unique biology, swapped gender norms, and sometimes murder.

**I received my copy from Netgalley.

[Regina Mastrogiacomo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book amazing and very interesting. I loved all the stories about how various animals took care of their young. I found the stories so interesting that I found myself wondering if the set of Bald Eagles in Big Bear Lake who had two surviving eaglets, and who like each other and are still hanging in the area are going to start a new way of bringing up eaglets, because most of the time one eaglet will push another eaglet out of the nest or beck it to death, but Sunny and Gizmo cooperated with one another and have survived. I wonder if the eaglets miss each other.
It's funny what people need to study when it's obvious by observing animals that those in close nit groups and includes a variety of members will survive over isolated individuals with little help. I love that the book talks about the role that grandmothers serve both in the animal kingdom and humans and how they protect the young and teach them how to survive. As it also states in the book, that grandmothers are the extra hands or substitute parent and are the ones that carry culture with them, and past it to the young. They seem to be the backup team.
There are so many studies in this book that shows how animals care for their young that it makes me wonder why it took so long for us to figure it out. I like that people are finally realizing that a lot of animals are capable of caring for their young as we are, and that we aren't as unique as we think are. It always bothered me that people downgrade animals when in reality animals have been more cooperate among each other than we do I always think of the African Savanah where all species commingle even though they may eat each other, and it seems so peaceful.

I want to thank Viking Penguin | Viking and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book that shows the caring of animals for their young isn't unique.

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny and smart

[Rem71090 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informative and very hopeful! I read it concerned that it would be overtly in favor of everyone having kids (the “caring for our young has made us who we are” bit in the summary that I read gave the vibe) but it definitely wasn’t - Preston talked a lot about non parents and their roles in caring. I had hoped it would expand into other aspects of care outside of raising our young, but those were really only lightly touched upon. But the book was approachable without being watered down to the point that readers with more scientific background won’t get anything out of it, which is hard to do. It also had the sort of sly humor that is probably only appreciated by the sort of people who want to read scientific nonfiction. I learned a *lot* about bug parents - and I left the book feeling not only hopeful about people in general, but also more respectful and appreciative of the animal kingdom as a whole.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this book to read because I have always been very interested in animal behavior. I have taken classes in it in college, so some of the observations and experiments are not new to me, but there are so many that were. I am delighted to find a wide variety of species studied relating to parenting.

There are abundant details in the Notes in the back of the book, so you can locate the research if you would like more details. Elizabeth Preston slipped in some humor once in a while and I loved the artwork by Marnie Galloway at the beginning of each chapter. It provides a transition to the next topic.

There are some descriptions of the activity of the subjects that can be somewhat triggering, so you may like to take breaks from reading. There are no warnings before you read about cannibalism, the killing of young fish, insects, baby birds etc. so you may want to pace yourself emotionally.

I greatly appreciate learning about caring among communities of insects and birds, apes, wild dogs, and humans.

This is an important book comparing human and animal behavior in the area of parenting.

[RavenReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I laughed, I clutch my pearls, and I shed more than one quiet tear. Preston’s writing celebrates the strange, beautiful, and messy ways life cares for life, and in doing so, reminds us that the roots of society may be found in the most primal acts of parenting. With meticulous research and lively storytelling, this book is a joy for anyone curious about biology, evolution, or what it truly means to care.

Whether you’re a parent, a pet owner, or someone who’s ever noticed how weird and wonderful caretaking can be, this book will open your eyes and your heart. Elizabeth Preston has found a way to blend science, soul, and a bit of bodily fluid humor (yes, really) into a guide that’s as moving as it is illuminating.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Elizabeth Preston, and Viking Penguin for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

[Darby Saxbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an engaging, funny, and fascinating look at the evolutionary biology of parenting, taking us on a species world tour that covers insects, fish, rodents, primates, and plenty of other wild and wacky creatures. The author travels to visit with researchers all over the world, so the reader gets a first-hand account of how the studies in the book were done. (Full disclosure, she interviewed ME! But that's not why I loved the book). She also provides glimpses of her own life as a mom, and shares relatable anecdotes about the challenges of parenting. The book is a lovely reminder that our assumptions and biases about parenting are often driven by our own human-centric, culturally specific lens, and that when we look around the wider world, there are plenty of ways to parent.

[Mattschratz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good account of a bunch of different species and the different things that, biologically, caring can look like for them. When I was in graduate school, I took a class about the literary issues around representing animals while neither anthropomorphizing them or treating them as utterly and unknowably alien. This book does a great job to thread that middle--presenting the unusual forms of care from our more and less distant animal relatives not as mondo bizarro anecdotes (or, not just that) and not as direct metaphors, but as continuous invitations to think about how they, and we, care.

[Eileen · Rating 5 out of 5]

You’ll learn a lot - and laugh - as you read this well researched and organized book about the myriad ways of parenting in the animal kingdom. The strategies that evolution has created to ensure that genes are passed to the next generation are surprisingly entertaining! Highly recommended for fans of Mary Roach.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting information, written well. I thought the first few chapters were less well differentiated, and sometimes adding the human element at the end of chapters felt less well-connected. But overall, I found it very interesting and learned so much about animals and all the different ways they take care of each other.

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating look at how animals of all types care for their expectant and youngsters. Interestingly, it DOES take a village to care for children . . . at least in species that continue to evolve. The findings make the trad wife/nuclear family pitch we hear these days seem particularly unhelpful and contrary to this research of care in the animal world.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Smart, funny, and accessible-- from frogs to hyenas, this book is full of fascinating insights into the world of animal parents (and their kiddos). A great gift for the grand/parent or animal lover in your life!

[Foggygirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great educational and at times humorous read.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a delightful read - funny, informative, and downright entertaining.

[Lisa Gardiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's natural to care. That's the main idea threaded through The Creature's Guide to Caring, and it's a reassuring thought given the scary times we live in.

Elizabeth Preston connects the challenges of human parents to those of animal parents with a friendly, conversational tone. The stories of how animals care for their young are fascinating, and so are the stories of the scientists who study them.

As a side note, I found spring to be an ideal time to read this book because animal parents were everywhere (finches building nests, rabbits raising tiny bunnies, geese with fuzzy goslings).