Rach Crawford

Congratulations Jarod K. Anderson, whose debut novel STRANGE ANIMALS publishes today with @ballantinebooks! You may know Jarod through his nature poetry or podcast (@cryptonaturalist), through his divine memoir SOMETHING IN THE WOODS LOVES YOU, or you might be coming to his work fresh -- in which case you're in for a thrilling discovery.

STRANGE ANIMALS is a delightful, page-turning, philosophical fantasy novel about a man who experiences a brush with death and is called to the mountains, where he discovers an enchanting world of hidden nature and memorable human characters, all of which, he finds, are in peril. Only through careful study and close attention can he, in concert with far more ancient and powerful forces, save them.

True story: I was enjoying a day off at Steve Irwin's Australia Zoo (yes, really) when I got an email from Jarod which included the early pages of this novel. Obviously I couldn't wait to start reading. & that's how my very first peek at the manuscript that would become STRANGE ANIMALS happened overlooking a dozen or so magnificent saltwater crocodiles -- bizarre and incredible creatures, quite literally prehistoric -- apt for this book that celebrates the ordinary magic of nature, and the wonder to be found in our world when we open ourselves to seeing.

It's no small honour to have worked on this book. I can't wait for you all to read it!

Congratulations again Jarod!!!