Enchanting, indeed. An invitation to a world of ornithological wonders.
An album of bird portraits from around the world, created and curated by a British ornithologist.
In his introduction, bird-watcher Sewell describes this as “my personal selection of the most amazing birds in the world—the most beautiful, strange, scary, speedy, and enchanting.” He’s organized his collection loosely by continent, preceding each chapter with a map outlining and labeling the countries. There’s no index, but the birds described in each section are listed by page number on the map spread. As with Narisa Togo’s Magnificent Birds (2017), a compilation with a similar premise but far fewer entries, this includes stylized images accompanied by a challenging text. Even adult readers will appreciate the author’s nimble word choice, his humor, and his admirable descriptive abilities. A Himalayan monal (Asia) is a “thoroughly pleasant pheasant.” Of the Andean cock-of-the rock (South America): “The males are dressed in an effervescent, glowing orange-red with what look like metallic silver solar panels on their backs.” Flat, full-color images of each bird are set on a white background. These are labeled with the bird’s common and scientific names. They’re reasonably accurate and certainly identifiable, though not to scale. Each of the 140 or so entries includes one or two paragraphs of descriptive text as well as the bird’s length in English units and where in the world it might be found. Unscientific, perhaps, but appreciative and informative.
Enchanting, indeed. An invitation to a world of ornithological wonders. (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-61689-857-1
Page Count: 144
Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere.
This book is buzzing with trivia.
Follow a swarm of bees as they leave a beekeeper’s apiary in search of a new home. As the scout bees traverse the fields, readers are provided with a potpourri of facts and statements about bees. The information is scattered—much like the scout bees—and as a result, both the nominal plot and informational content are tissue-thin. There are some interesting facts throughout the book, but many pieces of trivia are too, well trivial, to prove useful. For example, as the bees travel, readers learn that “onion flowers are round and fluffy” and “fennel is a plant that is used in cooking.” Other facts are oversimplified and as a result are not accurate. For example, monofloral honey is defined as “made by bees who visit just one kind of flower” with no acknowledgment of the fact that bees may range widely, and swarm activity is described as a springtime event, when it can also occur in summer and early fall. The information in the book, such as species identification and measurement units, is directed toward British readers. The flat, thin-lined artwork does little to enhance the story, but an “I spy” game challenging readers to find a specific bee throughout is amusing.
Friends of these pollinators will be best served elsewhere. (Informational picture book. 8-10)Pub Date: May 18, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-500-65265-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Pretty but insubstantial.
Zommer surveys various bird species from around the world in this oversized (almost 14 inches tall tall) volume.
While exuberantly presented, the information is not uniformly expressed from bird to bird, which in the best cases will lead readers to seek out additional information and in the worst cases will lead to frustration. For example, on spreads that feature multiple species, the birds are not labeled. This happens again later when the author presents facts about eggs: Readers learn about camouflaged eggs, but the specific eggs are not identified, making further study extremely difficult. Other facts are misleading: A spread on “city birds” informs readers that “peregrine falcons nest on skyscrapers in New York City”—but they also nest in other large cities. In a sexist note, a peahen is identified as “unlucky” because she “has drab brown feathers” instead of flashy ones like the peacock’s. Illustrations are colorful and mostly identifiable but stylized; Zommer depicts his birds with both eyes visible at all times, even when the bird is in profile. The primary audience for the book appears to be British, as some spreads focus on European birds over their North American counterparts, such as the mute swan versus the trumpeter swan and the European robin versus the American robin. The backmatter, a seven-word glossary and an index, doesn’t provide readers with much support.
Pretty but insubstantial. (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: June 4, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-500-65151-3
Page Count: 64
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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