It’s a beautiful book, and the fact that the entire 224 pages of it is fully illustrated makes it a treat for nature lovers, scientists and for anyone who loves reading about facts and learning something new. I can imagine this being a great book for kids as well – it’s colourful, interesting and with lots of snippets of information sandwiched between each page, is a treasure trove for inquisitive children. There’s also recipes, crafting instructions and an lesson on how to paint landscapes!
From the anatomy of flowers to beautiful barks, from the various types of water bodies to the inner workings of mountains; each of the seven chapters covered in the book is a wonderful introduction into nature and its many inhabitants. And while the book doesn’t contain the most thorough of information, it’s certainly up there as one of the most visually interesting ones I’ve seen.
Julia writes in the introduction:
It’s about as fair to call this a “nature book” as it is to call my little walks “nature hikes”. There is no way to include even a small portion of the enormous world around us in a book of any size. Where does it end. There is an infinite amount to learn about, from the constellations to the core of the earth. I guess I think of this project as MY nature book. It’s the information I was interested in learning about, the things I wanted to draw and paint. While it is only a teeny scratch on the surface, it has given me a chance to become acquainted with plants, animals, trees, grasses, bugs, precipitation, land masses and bodies of water that I wanted to be able to name when I walked by.
Her fried, John Nieskrasz was her companion throughout the making of the book, and was an influential green voice and tour guide in her rediscovery through nature. Overall, it’s a brilliant tour indeed of what Mother Nature has to offer (even if it’s merely a scratch on the surface!)
I’m hoping there’s a third book from Julia!
Nature Anatomy is available from Amazon.
what is the lovely music accompanying her lovely book? 🙂