Illumipedia
This interactive treasury is a comprehensive catalogue of animal species living in diverse ecosystems across the six continents and oceans of the world. Divided and subdivided by continents and their respective ecosystems, a succinct introduction, information key and useful map offers the reader an overview of the habitats and species that will be explored in each section. Given the book’s vast geographical reach, this approach is effective in contextualising the content for the young reader, making the book easy to navigate and understand.
Ambitious in its scope, the text boasts an impressive arsenal of animal facts. From tiny insects up to large mammals and everything in between, it even incorporates prehistoric species. Scientific drawings of the animals described enhance the factual text. The outstanding appeal of the book lies in its utterly novel approach to illustration. Beautifully luminous images occupy double-page spreads. In each image, there are three overlapping layers of illustration that prompt curiosity and invite exploration. These layers can be discovered using the book’s unique tricoloured magic lens. Each lens colour illuminates a distinct but interconnected layer of biodiversity within the particular ecosystem depicted. This approach to illustration effectively conveys the interdependence of flora and fauna in diverse global habitats, and it even shows how those habitats change from day to night.
In this way, Illumipedia successfully depicts the unique biodiversity of the Earth’s vast and varied ecosystems in a way that can foster environmental understanding, awareness and care.
