Brian Wildsmith's animal gallery

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This beautiful book will delight young animal lovers. Through evocative paintings, children are brought face to face with wildlife from around the world. Brian Wildsmith has captured the essence of each animal - form the playfulness of otters to a noisy gathering of parrots. His panoramic pictures also give a real sense of the animals' habitats - from a sun-soaked plain where elephants roam to icy Antarctica where penguins huddle together. Collective nouns - some familiar, others wonderfully surprising - are used to describe each group of animals. This is a book that will inspire a love of nature and a respect for animals from the earlilest age.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Booklist Review

This beautifully illustrated book showcases the vivid portrayals of animals by Brian Wildsmith (1930--2016), an English painter and illustrator best known for the arresting images in his picture books, which often feature animals in the wild. First published in England in 2008, this book introduces the collective nouns for various animals, such as "a pandemonium of parrots" or "a hover of trout." Each phrase provides the only text for a single- or double-page illustration portraying a group of the animals named. Created with colored pencil, chalk, watercolor, and gouache, the artwork combines strong composition and forms with delicate lines and a use of color that varies from riotous to restrained. Wildsmith's fans may recognize some of the images from his early books, such as the vibrant illustrations for "a pride of lions," "a leap of leopards," and "a skulk of foxes," which first appeared in his Wild Animals (1967). Their inclusion is this large-format picture book gives a new generation access to the artist's work, which is as powerful, fresh, and distinctive as ever.