My goal this year was to read more novels. But how can I when there are books like Moth by Isabel Thomas? This is an amazing non-fiction story about a particular moth and how it changed over the years.
The cover is gorgeous. The illustrations are a unique combination of romantic, realistic and abstract. These contradictions help give the feeling of night and day and the surroundings, plus making a story. The moths are black and white, and the rest of the animals are in color. And even though the cover is made of that “soapy feeling” material, it was the perfect companion as it gave an otherworldly feeling that the moths inside give off. Daniel Egneus created images that will evoke feelings. I enjoyed the strength of them but also how abstract-real they were. They are childlike without being childish.
The text/story is a straightforward non-fiction telling of the changes the peppered moth went through when man’s intervention came about. The story, while in a picture book format, is aimed at older children (ages 5 to 8-9) but it could be used in an older setting due to the facts presented in the story itself and the afterwards. See how Darwin’s theory of evolution came into play.
This book is almost perfect; therefore, it is a 4.5 and not just a 4. However, I was looking for something “else” and not sure what it was. Yet, I highly recommend this book to your budding scientist, child interested in insects or someone interested in environmental issues.