Animal Ark: Celebrating Our Wild World in Poetry and Pictures by Newbery Medal-winning author Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand Hess and Deanna Nikaido & photos by National Geographic Fellow, photographer Joel Sartore [Review & Giveaway]

Just in time for National Poetry Month and Earth Day in April, National Geographic Kids Books is thrilled to debut Animal Ark: Celebrating Our Wild World in Poetry and Pictures (February 2017, ages 4-8, $15.99) by Newbery Medal-winning author Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand Hess and Deanna Nikaido, featuring photos by National Geographic Fellow and photographer Joel Sartore.


My thoughts: These photographs are absolutely fantastic. The photographer's talent (and patience) involved in capturing the images is superb. True to National Geographic quality, the book presents a child's view of animals that National Geographic is capturing in their photographic animal ark where they are storing images of as many critters as possible. Some may in the future become extinct and these images will have  historic and naturalistic value. Children and adults alike will enjoy looking and learning from this delightful picture book. The sparse text invites the reader to "look into their eyes" and "sing our names."  And lyric lines such as.....


"wings like a cape, ready for flight into the sweet, dark night."      
"how many feathers.... does it take to make a wing to fly, share sky"
About the book: A howling wolf, a stalking tiger, a playful panda, a dancing bird - pairing the stunning photography of National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore with the delicate poetry of Newbery award-winning author Kwame Alexander, this lush picture book celebrates the beauty, diversity, and fragility of the animal world.

Featuring more than 40 unique animal portraits, the pages invite kids to explore each creature's markings, textures, and attributes in stunning detail, while calling on all of us to help protect each and every one. Three picture-packed gatefolds inside showcase even more familiar and exotic species. These images are part of Sartore's lifelong project to photograph every animal in the world, with special attention given to disappearing and endangered species.

Animal Ark pairs Alexander’s mix of playful and powerful poetry with more than 100 of Sartore’s most compelling images of the world’s species to create a photographic ark for children that highlights the importance of conservation and celebrates the beauty, diversity and fragility of the animal world.  Animal Ark is inspired by the National Geographic Photo Ark, a multiyear effort with Sartore and the National Geographic Society to document every species in captivity—inspiring people not just to care, but also to help protect these animals for future generations.

This picture book is a fantastic and unique selection for National Poetry Month and contains a message that is pitch perfect for Earth Day (April 22nd).




And those adorable photographs don't "just happen." It takes hard work and a fair amount "those won't work" snaps.

GIVEAWAY
Open to USA Addresses Only
Begins April 13
Ends April 30 @ 12:01 a.m EDT
Open to USA addresses only.
DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy to facilitate this review. Opinions are my own alone and are freely given. Prize is provided by and shipped to winner by MM Publicity on behalf of National Geographic.

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