British Wildlife is an utterly brilliant collation of illustrations sure to prove irresistible to children and adults alike – it has been a constant companion to my three children since its arrival on our doormat for review! The book professes to document the wildlife of the British Isles; its poetic introduction invites the reader to come ‘on a visual journey, as we meet the vibrant and varied wildlife of Britain’. Double page spreads of beautiful pictures are grouped under headings such as ‘Nibblers and Grazers’, ‘Fierce Flyers’, and ‘Fins and Flippers’. Each spread has a simple one or two sentence introduction, and then the illustrations are simply labelled.
As such, the book does not provide any in depth information on the flora and fauna included, and so for older readers a handbook to British Wildlife might be a helpful companion, but as an initial introduction to the breadth of wildlife living on and off our shores, this publication is excellent. Any teacher of key stage 1 would be well advised to have this book on hand as a resource in teaching about the wildlife to be found in our environment – both immediate and further afield – and inspiring children to get outside hunting for the animals and plants which this book makes it so easy to identify.
Philippa Riste
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British Wildlife. Matthew Morgan and Laura Knowles. Marshall Editions. ISBN:978-1-78493-551-1. 48 pages. £9.99