Blog Review | Magnificent Creatures

5:30 AM

Author // Anna Wright
Publication Month // January 3, 2017
Publisher // Faber
Australian RRP // $24.99 AUD
Genre // Children’s Book, Non-Fiction
synopsis.



Both informative and visually stunning, this beautiful introduction to the animal world will sit alongside the best of Faber's heritage publishing as well as other masterpieces of illustration such as William Grill's Shackleton.

Anna Wright's stunning introduction to non-fiction and the natural world is enlivened by her gorgeously sophisticated and fun art style which mixes pen and ink, watercolour and fabric collage. Find out what 'pronking' is and how one jellyfish can become two in the humourous descriptions. Both educational and beautiful Anna's unique picture book shows the character of these animals beyond their familiar forms.


review.

From butterflies and bumble bees to jellyfish and zebras, Anna’s Wright’s beautiful non-fiction book about animals is a lovely introduction to the wonderful creatures that live on Earth. 

Wright has used pen, ink, watercolour and collages to create illustrations that will delight and inspire young and old readers alike, while providing easy-to-access information about animals that are familiar, and a few that you may not have heard of before. (I know, I sat there wondering what a Springbok was, and now I know!)

While not a traditional non-fiction book about animals, Magnificent Creatures has a wonderful, whimsical quality that is intriguing and beautiful. Traditional pen and ink illustrations of animals are combined with watercolours and collage methods to expand on the natural patterns of animals in nature and highlight that no two animals in our world are exactly the same. It really highlights the uniqueness of our world in such a lovely, understated way that makes you look twice at each and every illustration.

Each animal - sea turtle, Springbok, jellyfish, crab, zebra, Starling, Monarch Butterfly, bumblebees, snow geese, Herring, Southern Carmine Bee-Eaters and fireflies - is accompanied by a paragraph highlighting some of their interesting features, as well as those small facts that all young children love to find and recount to everyone they know.

It is such a delight to be able to add this beautiful hardcover picture book into my collection - I know that I will be sharing it with my students for years to come.

5 out of 5 stars.



(Thank you to Allen & Unwin for sending me a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)


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