Adventures on Earth

Simon Tyler, 1977-

Book - 2019

Graphic illustrator Simon Tyler explores the extremes of our planet- and the people who venture there- in his bold and colourful style. Following on from the magnificent Adventures in Space, comes a compendium on a topic closer to home- our planet, the Earth. Learn about the highest and deepest, hottest and coldest places on Earth- travel to the extremes of our environment. Discover the world's most wild terrain- deserts, mountains, volcanoes, rivers, jungles, oceans, the polar regions and more- as well as the animals that live there and the people who have explored them. Find out how these regions are under threat from global warming and other issues, and learn what we can do to conserve them. Bursting with information and illustrated... in bold and colourful graphics, this book will grab the attention of all avid explorers- big and small.

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Subjects
Genres
Instructional and educational works
Published
London : Pavilion Children's 2019.
Language
English
Main Author
Simon Tyler, 1977- (author)
Physical Description
96 pages : colour illustrations, colour maps ; 29 cm
ISBN
9781843654278
  • Introduction
  • The Polar Regions
  • The mountains
  • Volcanoes
  • The oceans
  • The deserts
  • Rivers
  • Jungles and forests
  • Caves and chasms.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A companion to Adventures in Space (2018) commemorating feats of exploration and discovery while harking back to the grand old days of Eurocentric colonialism.In serigraphic-style illustrations that, like Lynn Curlee's, privilege strong forms and monumentality over specific detail, Tyler depicts stylized locales beginning with "Polar Regions" and running from "Mountains" and "Volcanoes" through "Oceans," "Deserts," "Jungles," and "Caves and Chasms." These serve as backdrops for brief accounts of select "pioneering adventurers," nearly all white Europeans, which feature lines such as "Samuel and Florence [Baker] followed the White Nile beyond Lake Albert and, in doing so, discovered an impressive waterfall," and "[Alfred Russell Wallace] traveled through previously unexplored forests," while offering patronizing nods to early Polynesian explorers and Indigenous Canadians. The author does highlight some modern adventurers including marine biologist Sylvia Earle and ill-fated volcanologist/filmmaker Katia Krafft but fails even to mention (for instance) early Muslim travelers or the 15th-century expeditions of Zheng He. The author also veers off topic in one chapter to plead for the conservation of forest ecosystems. Moreover, the final chapter's black-on-black color scheme renders human and other forms nearly invisible, and elsewhere the narrative is printed in a small typeface on, all too often, dark blue or green backgrounds that render it barely legible. Armchair explorers can easily do better.A strain for eyes and sensibilities alike. (glossary) (Informational picture book. 4-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.