Coming August 13, 2024 from Eerdmans Books for Young Readers; 44 pages
About the Author & Illustrator: “Carly Allen-Fletcher is a British freelance illustrator living and working in the Midlands. Her work explores the combination of digital painting and traditional media, creating images by layering graphic shapes with painted textures and handmade elements. She is inspired by nature, geometric forms, and interesting places” (Bio from Goodreads).
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Perfect for introducing complex biological concepts in an interesting and digestible way, this nonfiction picture book follows the life that surrounds us. From the introduction of cells to the organization of the kingdoms, everything is included to facilitate conversation and learning among young readers. The illustrations take readers on a journey throughout the six kingdoms of life: animals, plants, fungi, protists, bacteria, and archaea. The introduction to each kingdom begins with a definition of what the kingdom is composed of and how specific kingdoms are different from each other. Illustrations throughout the book are also numbered so that they can all be identified in the last few pages of the book.
As someone studying biology, I really enjoyed Kingdoms of Life! This is the type of book I wish I’d had when I was younger because this is the type of science that I wished I was learning in elementary school. Despite the content being quite knowledge-heavy and somewhat dense, it was all packaged in a clear and efficient way. I really enjoyed that Allen-Fletcher included the binomial name, also known as the scientific name, at the end of the book for every single species illustrated throughout the book. I also enjoyed that there was a simple breakdown of how to understand and create the scientific name for any species at the end of the book, including an example that almost everyone knows: Homo sapiens. From protists to animals, no species was left out. The illustrations were absolutely mesmerizing. Everything from the color scheme to the actual images were beautiful. Some of my favorite pages featured the ocean or the sun since the reflection of light and the movement of the water are captured so nicely through the illustrated art style. This book is the perfect introduction to the organization of life for young readers who are interested in biology or animals, or even those who just really like to look at vibrant illustrations in picture books.
Pine Reads Review would like to thank Eerdmans Books for Young Readers for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.
Vanshikha Vij, Pine Reads Review Writer