Kristjana S Williams (illus.), Jenny Broom (text), The Wonder Garden, Wide Eyed Editions/Murdoch Books, Nov 2015, 48pp., $35.00 (hbk), ISBN 9781847806475
There are some books that are made to pour over and explore, like an adventure, and The Wonder Garden is that kind of book. The reader is invited to wander through five of the world’s most interesting habitats to meet eighty intriguing and sometimes rare animals. From the zoological jewel that is the Amazon forest, to the tough, arid stretches of the Chihuahuan Desert and the diverse and vibrant Great Barrier Reef, Jenny and Kristjana have filled these pages with brightly illustrated worlds packed with fascinating facts. There are jaguars, roadrunners, gila monsters, dugongs and snow leopards. It is a feast to the eyes and mind, as the reader is invited to explore in intricate detail these fascinating habitats, through snowy mountains, deep forests, powerful waterfalls and tropical oceans. There is an index and a list of other places and sites to learn even more or you could just go back to the beginning and pour over it all again. Highly recommended.
Reviewed by Deborah Abela