Atlas of Amazing Birds: (fun, colorful watercolor paintings of birds from around the world with unusual facts, ages 5-10, perfect gift for young birders and naturalists)

by Matt Sewell

Overview

"Appreciative and informative. Enchanting, indeed. An invitation to a world of ornithological wonders."—Kirkus Reviews
 
"… a very readable and beautiful book. A charming compendium on the world's birds." —School Library Journal
 
An illustrated look at the fun and interesting facts and habits of some of the most beautiful, unique, and enchanting birds around the world.

Did you know the bald eagle holds the record for the world’s biggest nest, which weighs more than two tons? Or that when the elf owl gets into any kind of trouble, it plays dead instead of fighting? Or that the Adélie penguin can hold its breath for six minutes and leap up to ten feet in the air?
 
From colossal condors to polychromatic peacocks, The Atlas of Amazing Birds celebrates winged creatures around the world through joyful watercolor illustrations and well-researched, humorously told tales of their habits and habitats. Some birds migrate thousands of miles, others display showy mating rituals. Some survive in extreme environments, others are fast, brave, or big.
 
Organized by continent, the book features full-color illustrations of each bird, complete with a full description that includes their dimensions and locations by country, along with maps of migratory patterns across Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia, North America, South America, and Antarctica, where our feathered friends live in all sorts of interesting places—in gardens, amidst waterways, and along byways.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781616898571
Publisher:	Chronicle Books
Publication date:	10/01/2019
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	542,642
Product dimensions:	8.70(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	5 - 10 Years

About the Author

Matt Sewell is an avid ornithologist, and this is his fourth book about birds. He lives in Shrewsbury, England, and is also the author of The Colorful World of Dinosaurs.

Editorial Reviews

"Author/illustrator Matt Sewell has created a lovely book for the budding ornithologist. Divided into sections by continent, the volume includes lesser-known bird species. Each entry includes a charming, somewhat cartoon-like watercolor painting of the bird and several informational paragraphs."
– School Library Connection

"Appreciative and informative. Enchanting, indeed. An invitation to a world of ornithological wonders."
- Kirkus Reviews

"Tackling an entire class of animals is a daunting task, but this book, neatly organized by continent, rises to the challenge. Each section has a map and a small index of species. There is a short entry with a full-color illustration for each species. Useful for projects, entries include the animals’ scientific species name and details such as size, diet, behavior, and how their environment is impacted by humans. Overall, a very readable and beautiful book. A charming compendium on the world’s birds."
- School Library Journal

"If you have a budding ornithologist in the family, they will be awed by Matt Sewell’s gorgeous compendium of more than 150 birds from around the world. Sewell knows just how to entice young readers with engaging, humorous, and insightful text that provides a robust and individual introduction to each bird as well as their status in the world. Every entry is accompanied by brilliant watercolors that highlight each species’ spectacular, surprising, and sometimes even seemingly Dr. Seussian plumage." - Celebrate Picture Books

From the Publisher

10/01/2019

K-Gr 4—Tackling an entire class of animals is a daunting task, but this book, neatly organized by continent, rises to the challenge. Each section has a map and a small index of species. There is a short entry with a full-color illustration for each species. Useful for projects, entries include the animals' scientific species name and details such as size, diet, behavior, and how their environment is impacted by humans. However, information is inconsistent from one entry to the next. One entry might discuss behavior; another will not. A little bit of humor lightens the text instead of detracting from the facts. Material is given in manageable amounts and never overwhelms readers. The illustrations are accurate enough to be informative and charming enough to be more captivating than a photo. The glossary is very small, only seven words total, and there is no suggested further reading. Instead, an odd list of "suggested listening" includes songs about birds by various artists. Overall, a very readable and beautiful book. VERDICT A must for public libraries; school libraries will likely desire more information. A charming compendium on the world's birds.—Savannah Kitchens, Parnell Memorial Library, Montevallo, AL

School Library Journal

2019-08-26
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)

Kirkus Reviews