Creatures close up

Through the lens of French photographer Philippe Martin, 45 small animals and insects pop off the page in stunning, up-close detail. Martin's technique, known as hyper focus, involves taking multiple photographs and, through a computer program, combining the shots into one image. The result is a breathtaking photograph that shows every hair, feather, or scale. The book starts with a brief discussion of how Martin achieved his images and then goes on immediately into the pictures themselves. The photographs are, in a word, breathtaking. From the full range of colors in the Madagascar tree boa to the baby spiders living on a wolf spider, every page spread will likely grab the reader's full attention. Each photograph is accompanied by a sentence or two of factual information about the creature. Though the text is, while interesting, a bit thin, the pictures truly shine and will have readers combing the pages over and over again. For anyone interested in photography or wildlife, this is a winner.--Linsenmeyer, Erin Copyright 2016 Booklist

Forty-five small animals, most native to Madagascar, pose with regal splendor in a French photographer's eye-widening sampler.A laborious technique described in some detail at the outset renders each portrait a study in both rich color and microscopically fine natural detail. Presented in no particular order, the subjects, all of which were photographed alive, include a fuzzy garden dormouse, a giant tropical millipede, and a common cicada, among other showy, small creatures. Brightly hued insects such as the rainbow bush locust and Pygora beetle seem to shimmer, and for that otherworldly look it would be hard to better the extravagantly knobby weevil or a lime hawk-moth pupa that is as creepy and enigmatic as any movie alien. An accompanying note identifies each creature, usually mentions its locale, and sometimes adds a photographer's comment. Appetites piqued by this introduction may be sated by examining Martin's Hyper Nature (2015), for adults. Hyper-realistic delights for young naturalists. (index) (Informational picture book. 6-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.