Animalium (Welcome to the Museum Series)

by Jenny Broom, Katie Scott (Illustrator)

Overview

Animalium presents the animal kingdom in glorious detail with illustrations from Katie Scott, an unparalleled talent.

Welcome to the Museum is a series of books set on the “walls” of the printed page, showcasing the world’s finest collections of objects — from natural history to art. Open 365 days a year and unrestricted by the constraints of physical space, each title in this series is organized into galleries that display more than 200 full-color specimens accompanied by lively, informative text.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763675080
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/09/2014
Series:	Welcome to the Museum Series
Pages:	112
Sales rank:	72,056
Product dimensions:	10.70(w) x 14.60(h) x 0.70(d)
Lexile:	NC1260L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Jenny Broom studied painting at the Slade School of Art before becoming a writer and editor. She lives in London.

Katie Scott studied illustration at Brighton University and has since worked with the BBC, the New York Times,Universal Records, and Phaidon Press. She lives and works in London.

Editorial Reviews

★ 07/21/2014
Designed to mimic the experience of visiting a natural history museum, this elegant, eye-catching volume (first in a planned series) explores the animal kingdom through gorgeously detailed pen-and-ink illustrations that resemble vintage taxonomical plates. Each “gallery” is devoted to a different class of animal: invertebrates, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Within, Broom and Scott highlight individual species, which are succinctly described: the tomato frog of Madagascar “is nocturnal, burying itself in the moist earth during the day and emerging to hunt at night.” It’s easy to imagine these exquisite images hanging in the gilded hallways of a museum, but unlike a museum, readers can take this experience along with them. Ages 8–12. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Designed to mimic the experience of visiting a natural history museum, this elegant, eye-catching volume explores the animal kingdom through gorgeously detailed pen-and-ink illustrations that resemble vintage taxonomical plates. ... It’s easy to imagine these exquisite images hanging in the gilded hallways of a museum, but unlike a museum, readers can take this experience along with them.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Part oversized album and part encyclopedia, this "museum" of the animal kingdom showcases its variety and diversity with numerous examples from around the world. What distinguishes this collection from similar overviews is its presentation. The illustrations look like nature prints from long ago, but unlike those old engravings and lithographs, these fine-lined drawings began with pen and ink and were colored digitally. ... Overall, this impressive survey will surprise and please its visitors
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Readers (children and adults alike) will savor and investigate this visual catalog over and over again. ... A museum in a book, with spectacular colored pen-and-ink drawings, presented in an elegant 11"x15" volume.
—Shelf Awareness (starred review)

A book that is both restful and, in its way, invigorating. ... With creamy, oversize pages and delicately colored, fine-line drawings of creatures from the natural world ... An elegant volume. ... Ms. Broom's prose is presented in simple modern typeface, which provides a stylish accompaniment to Ms. Scott's exquisite illustrated plates. .... One breathtaking image after another, page after page, makes "Animalium" an ideal portable museum for young naturalists and for the aesthetically demanding grown-ups in their lives.
—The Wall Street Journal

Large, stunningly beautiful and filled with pictures of surpassing elegance and detail.
—The Wall Street Journal

It's a museum masquerading as a book. Truly original.
—People Magazine

Consider this oversized encyclopedia a museum visit between two covers. ... Scott’s full-page pen and ink spreads have the timeless elegance of a John James Audubon print, and Broom’s prose moves nimbly between broad facts to curious details. Take, for example, the book’s account of frog metamorphosis.
—Science Friday (NPR blog)

My personal favorite of the bunch, 'Animalium' is a stunning celebration of biodiversity on Earth and the beautiful creatures that live here. ... The illustrations are works of art, and each gallery includes wonderful facts about the creatures within. This book is perfect for all ages — I may just want a copy for myself.
—The Washington Post

Fabulously illustrated and chock full of information, the perfect book for the budding biologist or zoologist. A true wonder.
—East Bay Express

A simply stunning volume.
—The Buffalo News

This book is a very illuminating reference for readers who are interested in an overview and those who want more detailed information
—Library Media Connection

Beautiful.
—Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Gorgeously illustrated.
—Courier-Journal

From the Publisher

★ 2014-07-22
Part oversized album and part encyclopedia, this "museum" of the animal kingdom showcases its variety and diversity with numerous examples from around the world. What distinguishes this collection from similar overviews is its presentation. The illustrations look like nature prints from long ago, but unlike those old engravings and lithographs, these fine-lined drawings began with pen and ink and were colored digitally. Each image is labeled with a number or letters keyed to a gloss that includes identification (including Latin name and size) and a general explanation, usually on the opposite page. Section dividers and the endpapers employ an intriguing reversal with groups of drawings shown as white silhouettes against a dark background. The use of "dissection" images, the groupings and the lack of environmental background contribute to the gallery effect. After introducing the tree of life and the theory of natural selection, this exhibition begins with invertebrates and continues through fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, pointing out evolutionary developments along the way. Each basic group includes several spreads offering examples from subgroups within the class as well as a spread with a connected habitat: coastal waters, coral reefs, rain forest, deserts, woodlands and tundra. No information sources are given, but there are good suggestions for general websites for further learning. Overall, this impressive survey will surprise and please its visitors. (index) (Nonfiction. 7-12)

Kirkus Reviews