Review: Beautiful Birds
Beautiful Birds is an alphabet book which gives children a lyrical introduction to the Bird Kingdom.
The alphabetical rainbow of birds includes exotic toucans, proud peacocks and majestic eagles, each accompanied by some poetic information about the bird. Beautiful Birds is not only entertaining and adventurous – it is educational too!
Flying Eye Books, Beautiful Birds‘ publisher, is the children’s imprint of Nobrow Press. Set up in 2013, one of FEB‘s main aims was to create books which children would love and cherish, instilling a love of good books in the future generation from an early age. This goal is particularly clear in the production of Beautiful Birds. A vibrant, neon orange spot colour is introduced from the books front cover and continues throughout, popping up in feathery details to add a splash of excitement to the glorious title. In turn, this creates a contemporary, alternative aesthetic and a book which would be proudly displayed on the bookshelf of any bird enthusiast!
The most exciting thing about Beautiful Birds is you never know what you will get next! Turning the pages transports you from looking at everyday robins and swallows to being deep in the jungle gazing up at exotic toucans and tanagers.
M is for macaw, rainbows that ruffle and mandarin ducks, the oddest of couples
Each bird is stunningly illustrated by Emmanuelle Walker, an animation director and illustrator from Montreal, Quebec with a client list including Walt Disney, Nobrow magazine, Jean-Paul Gaultier and Samsung. Emmanuelle captures each of the beautiful birds using clean lines and fluid shapes creating a delicate and stylish look for this alternative alphabet book.
The books author, Jean Roussen, is a Swiss-French graphic designer and writer, who dabbles in publishing from time to time. His whimsical and poetic choice of words creates majestic descriptions of these feathery creatures and goes hand in hand with Emmanuelle’s sleek visuals.
www.flyingeyebooks.com