Botanicum Activity Book

The Welcome to the Museum books are, without exception, quite superb. They really get to the heart of what museums are all about, bringing them to life for children. This is the companion book to Botanicum, and it's packed with yet more fascinating facts. The book is also full of puzzles and colouring activities which offer hours of entertainment to artists and nature lovers young and old. Beautiful and inspiring, the myriad activities in this book challenge the reader to discover something new and use their imagination to draw, decorate and design on every pull-out page - I am sitting here longing to get my pens out and to get colouring! Once all the activities are completed, the book will be one to treasure. * Parents in Touch * If you loved Botanicum and who wouldn't, then this from the same team, is definitely for you: it's an activity book par excellence and is billed as 5+. However, as an early years teacher, I've seen 4 year olds do amazingly detailed observational drawings of plants, so I'd bring this down to 4+. This one took me right back to my 'gap year' working as an assistant in the herbarium at Kew where I was awed by the work of the, then resident artist. Back to this book, which has equally stunning illustrations and is probably best used alongside its 'parent' volume. There are pages of flowers and plants to colour; and those who would rather draw have several opportunities: there's a cycad tree with step-by-step visual instructions, ditto a pineapple fruit. Those who require a little guidance can complete algae patterns,draw mirror images of a buttercup half, three half leaves, add stem and foliage to four bulbs, for instance. For more confident drawing enthusiasts there are opportunities to create a cactus; complete a Carboniferous forest; add details to some leaves and create your own leaf , to name just some of the more open ended drawing activities. Spot-the-difference enthusiasts will also be satisfied with the four pages each with ten differences allocated to that activity: this one's truly beautiful. (You can always cheat by looking at the reverse side if you can't find them all.)Should you want to test your botanical knowledge there are pages for that too including There's even a maze, which looks quite forbidding, but I managed to do it - eventually - without cheating. With over 35 activities in all, this superb book offers hours of gently educational pleasure. * Red Reading Hub * 'Botanicum' is back and this time Katie Scott & Kathy Willis have produced the most sublime activity book. Bursting with fascinating facts and puzzles, this book offers hours of entertainment to artists and nature lovers, young and old. Featuring a myriad of activities it challenges the reader to discover something new and use their imagination to draw, decorate and design. Like 'Botanicum' this divine celebration of plants features a colourful array of intricate and dazzling illustrations combined with comprehensive botanical knowledge. An absolute joy of an activity book. * Book Lover Jo * Botanicmn is a beautiful activity book, that challenges the leader to draw, colour and design on every pull-out page. Perfect for parents and grandparents and their little ones. * Woman's Weekly * Colouring, drawing, puzzles, facts and astonishing plants... the perfect combination for all budding artists and naturalists! Following last year's publication of the incredible Botanicum, a super-sized book of stunning botanical delights, and the next best thing to stepping inside a real-life exhibition of plants, author Professor Kathy Willis and illustrator Katie Scott return with a beautiful companion activity book. Bursting with fascinating facts and puzzles, this carefully crafted book, published by Big Picture Press in association with Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, offers hours of enjoyment to artists and nature lovers, young and old. The wide variety of activities, including mazes, spot the difference, matching crops to their names, colouring, doodling and drawing, challenge the reader to discover something new and use their imagination to draw, decorate and design on every pull-out page. The good quality paper and wonderfully intricate artwork ensure that this big, bold book is not just blooming with the most amazing plant life but can help to inspire a new generation of artists. -- Pam Norfolk * Lancashire Evening Post *