Nature Anatomy

February 15, 2015
Author and illustrator Rothman (Farm Anatomy, 2011) brings her inimitable style to this delightfully whimsical and scientifically sound field guide. With hundreds of large and small color illustrations, this appears to be more art book than anything else, yet Rothman has painstakingly and effectively addressed the most interesting aspects of everything she illustrates, even including Latin names in the process. Readers thus learn that only the female American Holly tree (Ilex opaca) produces the famous berries used for holiday decorating, the sperm whale is the largest sea mammal with teeth, and flocks of cedar waxwings will pass berries down the line beak-to-beak until every bird has been fed. With its wide range of topics, from landforms to leaf identification, bird beaks, and water bugs, Nature Anatomy is designed as the ultimate book for browsers with an insatiable curiosity about the great outdoors. Rothman has clearly found a structure and design in which she excels; this title is an informative charmer from start to finish. More, please.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)