Wilderness: Earth's Amazing Habitats by Mia Cassany and illustrated by Marcos Navarro

ISBN: 9783791373720
Buy it on Amazon
Hardcover - 48 pages - 11"x14"

My thoughts:  Just look at the cover! Can you even imagine being in a dark, dense jungle and glimpsing those eyes peering at you from the lush hiding  place? The illustrations capture the exotic creatures and habitats that exist in our beautiful World.

The illustrations are frankly quite "wild" and not realistic. They are different and somewhat surreal. They are boldly colorful and fun.

Inside the front pages is a two-page spread map showing the locations of each of the habitats featured. Then the pages drift through each of these telling about the habitat and the special critters and plants found in each.

The "story" doesn't end there, though. At the back of the book there is a picture of each habitat's two-page spread and each critter is labeled and there is a brief write up about the creatures.

A good and fun method to teach our beautiful world's wonders.

Written for children ages 6-9, it will bring entertainment as well as education into their reading time. They will have fun searching through the pictures for the various animals and plants.

About the book: Journeying the pages of this oversize book, young readers will go to the planet's wild regions, including forests, jungles, tundras, and deserts to discover the animals that call it home.

This captivating book brings the natural world into sharp focus. Beautifully colored and intricately detailed illustrations depict places as exotic and wide-ranging as Senegal's Niokolo-Koba National Park, Russia's Sikhote-Alin mountain range, the Sinharaja Forest Reserve in Sri Lanka, Daintree National Park in Australia, the Mexican desert, and China's bamboo forests. The animals that live in these remote places, cleverly hidden in the trees, plants, and flowers, create a marvelous challenge for young readers to find and identify. Each spread contains more than twenty different species including birds, snakes, frogs, iguanas, leopards, tigers, gorillas, pandas, and wolves. The back of the book is filled with additional information about the animals and their habitats. Young readers will find much to discover, explore, and learn in this absorbing celebration of our planet and the amazing creatures we share it with.

About the author: MIA CASSANY is the author of numerous books for children including Atlas of Imaginary Places and Great Ports of the World (both by Prestel). She is the co-founder of Mosquito Books. She lives in Barcelona, Spain.

MARCUS NAVARRO is an illustrator living in Spain. This is his first book.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy to facilitate this review. Opinions are my own and are freely given.