The Land of Neverbelieve

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Discover the extraordinary animals and plants found on the fantastical island of Neverbelieve in this exquisitely illustrated gift book by world-renowned artist, Norman Messenger.On setting foot on the island I was immediately spellbound. There could be nowhere else on Earth quite like this. Such trees, plants, creatures and intriguing people you would never believe. This was a place I had to explore and record... When Norman Messenger stumbled upon the Island of Neverbelieve, he couldn't quite believe his eyes: here was a world where chocolate grew on trees, mountains told stories, and fish flew in the sky at night. Here is your chance to explore the delights of the island from the Hamlet and the Flowering Meadow to the Magical Lake and the Spooky Dark Mountains.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

The Cutlery Tree, Sky Travelers, the Lurking Otter, and the Sawbill Bird all live in the Land of Neverbelieve, a lush, green island Messenger (Imagine) says he encountered while "quietly puttering about at sea" in his boat. The island, he explains, periodically sprouts a pair of legs and relocates itself; this is why its residents dare not leave it, for fear that it will be gone when they return. Working along the lines of a visual encyclopedia or a guidebook to this imaginary land, Messenger uses delicate clouds of pencil and watercolor to draw the island's trees (the Forgetful Tree "does not remember to produce branches or leaves"), scary fastnesses (the Spooky Dark Mountains), inhabitants ("friendly, gentle, and doll-like in stature"), and amusements (metamorphosing creatures that "transform, link, and stand upside down"). Every page is crammed with information and images; most have gatefolds with yet more fantastical creatures and outlandish details. "You would never believe..." read the introductions to several sections, echoing the title. The Land of Neverbelieve may wander, but fortunately the book can be returned to again and again. Ages 7-up. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

School Library Journal Review

Gr 4 Up-"You would never believe the wondrous delights of the calm and tranquil clearing: a surprising, cherished tree, and if you are lucky, delightful surreal visitors showing off their talents." The gnarled, leafless alphabet tree in "The Happy Forest Clearing" is among a multitude of fanciful plants and animals in this extravagant travelogue. Some are surreal, others murky or indistinct in crowded double-page entries describing the author's encounters on a strange, heavily populated island he found one day "while quietly puttering about at sea in my boat." Messenger's soft-hued drawings, dominated by gray greens and tans, depict an island laid out in the profile of a wolf. Many views are extended in narrow foldout panels on one side or the other. The entries form a catalogue of the physical features, habitations, and flora and fauna of the island in dry, terse commentary-probably intended as tongue-in-cheek-set in brief introductions and captions for the numerous pictures. "You would never believe" the pasta tree that delivers spaghetti clusters with an "herb-like leaf, which tastes uncannily like basil." Some references are more likely to be understood by adults, and some of the jokes are pretty flat, but there are amusing incongruities lurking here as well. This is a browsing item for the oversize shelves; it could also be useful in prompting children to develop their own imaginary lands.-Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

You would never believe . . . is the constant refrain in this heavily illustrated volume that looks like a handsome science encyclopedia but is, in fact, pure parody. Each double-page spread is packed with freestanding diagrams and eye-catching watercolor-and-colored-pencil illustrations, as well as detailed annotations and wordplay that extend the nonsense even as they may fool readers into thinking that they are looking at authentic, documented research. On one spread, the Tree of Horrible Hands has sensitive branches that will grab you and the illustrations show the menacing species. Open up the side flaps and you will see the Leering Night Moth and the Three-Headed Snake. Other spreads include the Magical Lake, where the Water Bird that hates getting its feet wet stands in high galoshes; the Double-Cream Cow, with two bodies joined at the hip; and the Cat Fish that is both cat and fish. It gets wilder and wilder, and even the younger audience that may not get all the references will enjoy the silly farce about the craziness of the natural world.--Rochman, Hazel Copyright 2010 Booklist

Kirkus Book Review

Free-floating imagination meets artistic expertise in this visual record of the exotic flora, fauna and (more or less) human residents encountered on an unexpected visit to an elusive island. Messenger extends his available space with one or two side flaps on nearly every spread and proceeds to fill it all. He provides formally posed, elaborately detailed images of such rare creatures as the tentacled Octofrog and the two-headed Double Cream Cow, along with plants like the Chocolate Tree (in a cutaway view to reveal its peppermint fondant center), a Pasta Tree and the grasping, sinister Tree of Horrible Hands. He also portrays such not-quite-natural features as the aptly named Spooky Dark Mountains and vocal Book Mountain. The brightly striped houses of the friendly, pig-footed local settlers cluster around the foot of the latter. The author points out odd behaviors and special features in chatty explanatory captions throughout, and he also notes that the island is hard to find because it will, without warning, extend legs and wander off. As indeed, it did to him in a moment of inattention. For young would-be tourists as well as students of nature's more fanciful imaginary reaches, the next best thing to an actual visit. (Picture book. 7-10)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.