Meet the Mini-Mammals

A Night at the Natural History Museum

by Melissa Stewart

illustrated by Brian Lies

Beach Lane / Simon & Schuster, 2025

for ages 5–9

ISBN 978–1‑66594–7‑169

Purchase this book at your local independent bookseller or Amazon.com.

Big mammals like elephants, hippos, and giraffes get a lot of press, but what about the little critters? From pint-sized flying squirrels to itty bitty mouse lemurs, learn all about the mini-est mammals from around the world, depicted at their real-life size. Delightful illustrations and lively text perfect for read alouds combine in this adorable and informative picture book from Sibert Honoree Melissa Stewart and Caldecott Honoree Brian Lies.

Behind the Book

“In 2019, I was struggling to come up with a topic for a new book, so I asked my husband, Gerard, what he thought I should write about. He gave a one-word answer: “Munchkins!”

That made me laugh. Munchkins, or mini-munchkins, is a collective name we use for our five nieces and nephews — Iris, Colin, Emile, Claire, and Caroline.

In the past, I’ve written books inspired by all of them, so Gerard’s answer was just a joke. But it made me think. The world is full of animals that are small and adorable, and kids would probably like to know more about them.

Then I wondered … how would I choose animals to include? Since I’m a mammal (and so are my young readers), that seemed like the obvious choice. I decided to countdown twenty adorable mammals smaller than the width of my hand — 8.25 inches. Then I dug into the research.

The final book is a whole lot different from my initial vision, but it wouldn’t exist without that smart-alecky suggestion from my husband.”