Nature's Dance: The Captivating Choreography of Birds, Fish and Insects

Solsona is a Spanish artist and illustrator whose work has been exhibited internationally. Her book Literary Landscapes was selected by dPICTUS as one of the 100 Outstanding Picturebooks of 2023 and 2024, and Nature’s Dance will surely attract similar plaudits. A tall, narrow volume, using a similar colour palette to Literary Landscapes, the book opens out into six four-sheet spreads. Each spread features a different species and explores how it employs its own large-group choreography: the v-formation flight of geese, the acrobatic murmuration of starlings, the vibrations used by bees to communicate, the synchronised spiral swimming of sardines, the linear formations employed by ants, and the coordinated movements of penguins.

Even if you didn’t read a word of the text, the design and illustration of the book is enthralling; once you dip in, the information it contains is dense but clearly expressed, and broken into numbered paragraphs to make it more digestible. The end pages feature a brief glossary of terms, a list of scientists, select bibliography and additional sources and resources.

This book will appeal to a broad range of readers, from image lovers of all ages to older students doing science projects. It is sure to be taken from the shelf repeatedly.