Merz’s playful attitude and love of creatures big and small shines through in drawings she made using unconventional tools like sticks, sponges, and spatulas. Each of the 26 animals— ranging from elephants and jellyfish to tigers and dung beetles—convey depth and motion and are just plain fun to look at…. The text is short but engaging, relating fun facts and ending with a question or prompt to encourage further play and discussion. It’s a wonderful way for children to begin to learn about predator/prey relationships and how animals are adapted to their specific environments…. both a work of art and a great first encyclopedia for the youngest animal lovers.”
—Mia Spangenberg, World Kid Lit
“The text is a bit playful, which is great and makes this so much more interesting than a dry textbook…. The illustrations are a treat…. This is a wonderful way to let young readers learn more about some well-known and lesser known creatures in our world in a way which entertains and delivers information at the same time.… It would make a great read-aloud and [would] definitely open up some fun discussions.”
—Tonja Drecker, Bookworm for Kids
“A childlike wonder imbues each exploration, creating a shared sense of discovery... as open-ended questions… invite engagement. The inky menagerie, conjured from spots, smears, splotches, lines, and brushstrokes—a pooping rhinoceros with a windmilling tail, a wide-eyed whale surfacing for air, and sharp-toothed wolves lolling in packs—is a humorous visual delight. Together, they offer a joyous celebration of ‘the funny little miracle[s]’ of nature.”
—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review
“Wielding crayons and broad, inked brushes, a Finnish artist offers freestyle images of 26 wild animals of land and sea…. [T]he overall effect is one of lively activity, with occasional surprises, such as a clump of sinuous, scary-looking jellyfish on a vivid blue background—think H.P. Lovecraft à la Henri Matisse.”
—Kirkus Reviews
Praise for the Finnish Edition:
“A bestiary that seduces the reader into the secrets of ink drawings. The loosely spun, spattered and scraped animal characters by Laura Merz excellently link the ancient art of ink with the present day. Large format and the powerful yet calm layout work well together. The style inspires.”
—The Most Beautiful Books of the Year 2016, Finnish Book Art Committee
2020-06-03
Wielding crayons and broad, inked brushes, a Finnish artist offers freestyle images of 26 wild animals of land and sea.
The free-verse poetic flights (or Jeremiah’s translations) that Järvinen pairs to each of Merz’s animal portraits are technically accurate but sound fanciful: “Here comes the multi-purpose marvel of the jungle, / Elephant and TRUNK!” And: “The bear combs through the ant hill with its big paws / and pops its occupants into his mouth.” Sharing a like disregard for the conventional approach, the art, inspired (as the artist explains) by dim childhood memories rather than actual models, is largely composed of semi-abstract jumbles of geometric shapes and shadowy blobs, disconnected or oddly jointed limbs rendered with a few quick strokes, and scribbles or washes of thin primary hues. The creatures are largely unrecognizable without the printed cues adjacent, but the overall effect is one of lively activity, with occasional surprises, such as a clump of sinuous, scary-looking jellyfish on a vivid blue background—think H.P. Lovecraft à la Henri Matisse—and a trio of polar bears, two of which are pitch black (as polar bears are, beneath their fur), to give viewers pause. Leading questions or suggestions at each poem’s end (“Have you tried walking like a camel?”) will provoke further reactions from fledgling animal lovers. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9.8-by-24-inch double-page spreads viewed at 52% of actual size.)
Natural history from decidedly offbeat angles. (Picture book/poetry. 6-8)
