Koala Hospital

In this first book in the Wildlife Rescue series, photographer Eszterhas documents the work of Cheyne Flanagan and volunteers at the Koala Hospital in Port Macquarie, Australia, where they rehabilitate injured, sick, and orphaned koalas. After being examined at the hospital, baby koalas are sent to live with human foster mothers: “The joey will cling to the foster mom as she moves around the house, even while she watches TV, washes the dishes, or reads a book.” The moments captured in Eszterhas’s crisp photographs are as adorable as one would expect, and facts about koala characteristics and behavior provide a sense of the marsupials’ behavior once they are released into the wild, and end sections discuss conservation efforts. Ages 7–10. (Oct.)