Audubon's Birds of America: The Audubon Society Baby Elephant Folio

Book Description

One of Abbeville's most spectacular achievements, representing the highest standards in fine art printing, now available at a more economical price.

This marvelous edition of Audubon's Birds of America displays all 435 of Audubon's brilliant handcolored engravings in exquisite reproductions taken from the original plates of the Audubon Society's archival copy of the rare Double Elephant Folio. Although many attempts have been made to re-create the magnificent illustrations in Audubon's masterpiece, nothing equals the level of fidelity or scale achieved in this high-quality edition.

Completely reorganized and annotated by Roger Tory Peterson, who was America's best-known ornithologist, and issued with the full endorsement and cooperation of the Audubon Society, this volume is the first to rearrange the plates in a more scientific order. Peterson's fascinating introduction places Audubon in the context of the history of American ornithological art and also reproduces a wide sampling of the work of Audubon's notable predecessors and disciples, including Peterson's own justly famous paintings.

This new systematic arrangement of the prints, complete with informative commentaries about each bird, made it possible to correct many of the problems or errors in Audubon's original edition that later scholarship revealed.

Other Details: 428 full-color illustrations, 435 duotones.

Customer Reviews:

A Good Companion.......2007-07-14

Having recently read the biography of Audubon, I was very interested in seeing the actual drawings. The book I read had a few of them in black and white, but I wanted to see a larger sample in color. I decided to see if Amazon had anything and was very surprised to see that they offered all of the original drawings in color for a very small price. I realized the book would be smaller than the original life size drawings, but was a little surprised to find that the book was so small. That is my main problem with the book. Otherwise - WOW. To see these birds in all their glory in full color is just breathtaking. Furthermore, when you consider the original size, to have shrunk them down and still maintain the detail and the beauty is quite impressive. One can appreciate the drawings without having read about Audobon's struggle to create and then publish them, but I would suggest this book as a companion to a good biography of Audobon. Once you have both, his accomplishment can be fully appreciated.

Spectacular.......2005-08-02

This book is spectacular. The images are breathtaking, and the quality of their presentation is nothing short of superb. Wow!!!

Why reorganize a symphony?.......2004-11-30

Let me qualify my remarks by first saying that I have not even seen this version. I have no doubt that the printing is of the highest quality, but I have a serious reservation about the organization of this book. Audubon deliberately mixed his birds in a non-taxonomic order to maintain a freshness and an element of suprise. I recently acquired a large format copy published by Welcome Rain, which follows Audubon's original order. The effect is a delightful romp through nature, full of suprises, drama and movement. He never intended it to be a catalog with all his ducks in a row, it was to be an experience. I have seen an abridged, small format edition of his paintings arranged in the standard, dull taxonomic order of a typical field guide and the effect is nothing like seeing them in the order Audubon intended. Rearranging the plates for convenience of listers diminishes this work, and to a certain extent, is a disservice to the artist. While I am happy to see that his work remains in print and is being reproduced at very high standards, I would hope that it would be viewed as a symphony, not as a random collection of notes needing to be organized alphabetically.

Beautiful volume of audubon.......2004-07-16

If you are a birder and you collect all the great bird books, your collection is not complete until you get this. A beautiful book, contained in a hard case, with excellent printing. A steal at $250 at its original price, now knocked down between $125 to $185. Get this book! A great tribute to Peterson and Audubon.

The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon (Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 (Awards))

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Breathtaking!
A survey of his pioneering observational techniques
Bird Lovers Take Note!
An Exquisite Marriage of Art and Text
Spectacular!

The Boy Who Drew Birds: A Story of John James Audubon (Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students K-12 (Awards))
Jacqueline Davies
Manufacturer: Houghton Mifflin
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0618243437

Book Description

John James Audubon was a boy who loved the out-of-doors more than the in. He was a boy who believed in studying birds in nature, not just from books. And, in the fall of 1804, he was a boy determined to learn if the small birds nesting near his Pennsylvania home really would return the following spring. This book reveals how the youthful Audubon pioneered a technique essential to our understanding of birds. Capturing the early passion of America's greatest painter of birds, this story will leave young readers listening intently for the call of birds large and small near their own homes.

Customer Reviews:

Breathtaking!.......2005-03-18

My 5 children,ranging in age from 3-11 years,were absolutely captivated by this book. The author tells the story of a young John James Audubon and the illustrator brings the story alive thru rich mediums. This book is a perfect stepping stone to a variety of unit studies.

A survey of his pioneering observational techniques.......2005-01-03

John James Audubon loved nature and the outdoors as a child, and was determined to study birds in the wild rather than from books even as early as 1804. Jacqueline Davies' lively story of his youth and pioneering attitude will reach grades 3-6 with an excellent survey of his pioneering observational techniques. Drawings by Melissa Sweet provide lovely accompaniment to the story of the naturalist's early years.

Bird Lovers Take Note!.......2004-12-17

I loved reading this beautiful book with my nieces and nephew. There's so much to look at in the illustrations, and the writing flows naturally like the countryside Audubon explored. Children will be inspired to conduct their own investigations in the outside world after reading this. Each time you read this book, you find new things to look at and words to enjoy.

An Exquisite Marriage of Art and Text.......2004-12-16

Like a bird's song, the lyrical text by Jacqueline Davies is both simple and rich with undertones--the repetition of pattern, the careful selection of noun and verb, the staccato rhythm interspersed with longer musical lines. Paired with the exquisite collage art of Melissa Sweet, it is a perfect marriage. Children will love to pour over the tiny details in the illustrations. Teachers will revel in the biographical details of the text. All readers will come away with a feeling of enormous admiration for John James Audubon, whose passion gave the world so much knowledge and beauty.

Spectacular!.......2004-12-16

The Boy Who Drew Birds is one of those rare picture books that appeals to all ages. Young collectors will marvel when reading that Audubon's "Every shelf, every tabletop, every spare inch of floor, was covered with nests and eggs and tree branches and pebbles and lichen and feathers and stuffed birds . . ." Young artists may be shocked to discover that each year, on his birthday, John James removed the drawings on his wall that he had completed in the past 12 months, and burned them in the fireplace. All will be inspired by Audubon's inquisitiveness, his exploration of bird habits, and his ability to follow his passions (not to mention Melissa Sweet's amazing art). A beautifully written, gorgeous book!

Catesby's Birds of Colonial America (Fred W Morrison Series in Southern Studies)

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Catesby's Birds of Colonial America (Fred W Morrison Series in Southern Studies)
Alan Feduccia , and Russell W. Peterson
Manufacturer: The University of North Carolina Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0807848166
Release Date: 1999-02-10

Book Description

With this lovely and informative volume, Alan Feduccia preserves the pathbreaking work of Mark Catesby, the English naturalist and illustrator who founded natural history and bird art in America. First published by UNC Press in 1985, the book features all 109 bird illustrations, 20 color plates, and the entire text from Catesby's pioneering Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahamas. Annotating Catesby's writings from a modern perspective, Feduccia discusses the perception of each species during the Colonial period, comments on its habits, and compares Catesby's observations with those of such other early naturalists as John White, John Lawson, Alexander Wilson, and John James Audubon.

John James Audubon in the West: The Last Expedition: Mammals of North America

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John James Audubon in the West: The Last Expedition: Mammals of North America
Sarah Boehme
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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John James Audubon: The Making of an American

ASIN: 0810942100

Amazon.com

Only a generation after Lewis and Clark's expedition, the artist and naturalist John James Audubon captured his contemporaries' imaginations with his illustrations in Birds of America. John James Audubon in the West celebrates a lesser-known work, Quadrupeds of North America, which is the focus of a traveling exhibition organized by the Buffalo Bill Historical Center of Cody, Wyoming. Audubon's Quadrupeds presented colored lithographs far superior to the outline engravings that normally illustrated encyclopedias and scientific volumes of his day. They have the same liveliness and sense of movement as the bird illustrations; background landscapes are small masterpieces in themselves; imaginative settings add a theatricality to many pictures, such as a tawny weasel at the throat of a farmyard chicken or a cougar with his kill; and details like the fur of squirrels and wolves are very fine. Audubon's research included a six-month field trip up the Missouri in 1843 that resulted in the discovery of several new species, including North America's only native ferret, the black-footed ferret--though the project was more important as art than as science. The 180 illustrations in John James Audubon in the West include the most successful of the animal pictures, preparatory sketches, and comparative material such as contemporary Western landscapes. Four essays by Audubon scholars analyze the artist's style, his Missouri journey, scientific collaborations, and the technical and commercial context for the publication of Quadrupeds. While his birds will always overshadow his work on mammals, John James Audubon in the West introduces an important pioneering study and a fascinating piece of American history. --John Stevenson

Book Description

Millions of nature lovers are familiar with Audubon's exquisite portraits of birds in his great masterpiece, The Birds of America. Less well known yet of immense significance is a second masterwork by the noted artist/naturalist-a series of illustrations devoted to the four-legged mammals of North America. This splendid volume-created to accompany a traveling exhibition organized by the Buffalo Bill Historical Society, Cody, Wyoming-is the most comprehensive study ever made of Audubon's mammal paintings.

The superb draftsmanship and extensive field research that characterize Audubon's famous bird paintings are everywhere evident in the renderings of bison, foxes, deer, and much more. The text, by four noted Audubon scholars, places Audubon's mammals in the context of his life's work and evaluates his enduring scientific, artistic, and literary legacy.

SARAH E. BOEHME is curator of the Whitney Gallery of Western Art at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.

ANNETTE BLAUGRUND is director of the National Academy of Design Museum and School of Fine Art, New York City.

ROBERT PECK is a fellow of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia.

RON TYLER is director of the Texas State Historical Association, Austin.

Amazon.com

John James Audubon's indelible portraits of American birds have long since cemented his reputation as one of our truly magical realists. Yet the artist, who was born in Haiti in 1785 and died 66 years later on his 30-acre estate in upper Manhattan, was not only a sublime featherhead but a trailblazing nature writer and diarist. Doubters should take a gander at the Library of America's splendid Writings and Drawings. This new compendium features 64 full-color plates, most of them from the Ornithological Biography, which demonstrate the compositional and dramatic brilliance that Audubon brought to his work: seldom has the black vulture, or Coragyps atratus, looked so elegant or sleekly satisfied, and his colloquium of ruby-throated hummingbirds (a.k.a. Archilochus colubris) is an almost comical study in group dynamics. Yet it's the texts--journals, letters, diaries, a brief memoir, and a pair of essays on artistic technique--that are the true revelation here.

Audubon was not, for the record, a kind of starry-eyed precursor to the Sierra Club, leaving nature untouched by human hands. It's telling that in his self-portrait, the artist is gripping neither palette nor paintbrush but a flintlock rifle. Gunning down his ornithological subjects was a necessary prelude to portraying them. Still, Audubon had quite a few of what we moderns would call conflicted moments, during which his admiration for, say, the Mississippi kite would temporarily halt the killing spree. Here the sight of a mother attempting to rescue its chick manages to stay his itchy trigger finger--for a millisecond, anyway:

My feelings at that moment I cannot express. I wished I had not discovered the poor bird; for who could have witnessed, without emotion, so striking an example of that affection which none but a mother can feel; so daring an act, performed in the midst of smoke, in the presence of a dreaded and dangerous enemy. I followed, however, and brought both to the ground at one shot, so keen is the desire of possession!

The aesthetic and taxidermal impulses have torn apart many a naturalist since then (although, to be sure, the stricken diarist was later annoyed to discover that another animal had cut in on his action: "What was my mortification, when I found that some quadruped had devoured both!") Elsewhere, Audubon records the topography of the Mississippi Valley in vivid detail, or grumbles about the tight job market: "Visited several Public Institutions where I cannot say that I Was very politely received; in one or Two Notable ones (Not Willing to Mention Names) I was invitd to Walk in and then out in very quick order." Audubon's early-19-century orthography, which the editors have meticulously retained, may take some Getting Used To. And the sheer piling up of avian corpses can seem almost comical to a modern reader. Still, Audubon worshipped pretty thoroughly, and very productively, at the shrine of the natural world. And let's recall his verdict on Liverpool's industrial landscape, which he observed during a 1826 visit: "Naked streets look dull." If only there'd been a long-billed curlew on hand! --James Marcus

Book Description

A landmark volume collects the writings and drawings of America's greatest artist-naturalist

The breathtaking art of John James Audubon's Birds of America has been celebrated throughout the world since it first appeared over 150 years ago. Less well known is Audubon's literary legacy -- the magnificent volumes of natural history he published during his lifetime, as well as the remarkable journals, memoirs, and letters left behind at his death. Now, with The Library of America's unprecedented John James Audubon: Writings and Drawings, Audubon the great nature writer takes his rightful place alongside Audubon the artist.

Here is the most comprehensive selection of Audubon's writings ever published, along with a spectacular portfolio of his drawings. The "Mississippi River Journal," the foremost record of an American artist's progress, details Audubon's first wilderness bird hunts. Selections from his "1826 Journal" follow him to Europe, where his abilities were finally recognized. Audubon's masterwork, the five-volume Ornithological Biography, is here generously represented by 45 entries. Charming, haunting, and violent by turns, these vivid intimate portraits of the habits and habitats of America's birds, from the curious mating rituals of the Wild Turkey to the sublime spectacle of the migration of the now vanished Passenger Pigeon, changed American nature writing forever. The "Missouri River Journals" evoke the vanishing American Indian and the hardships of frontier life. An extensive selection of letters charting almost 20 years of Audubon's artistic development, along with two essays on artistic technique and a brief memoir, round out the volume. For the first time, all texts have been painstakingly prepared from original sources. General and ornithological indices will aid the reader in the field as well as in the study. Sixty-four full-color plates, and fascinating manuscript sketches, some never before published, offer a unique perspective on Audubon's art.

Customer Reviews:

Talent, Passion, Perseverance: A Portrait of the Artist.......2007-08-17

Considering the high regard in which Audubon is held today, the reader may be surprised to learn how hard he had to struggle to get there.
Having failed repeatedly in his business ventures, he decided to concentrate his efforts on his true talent: observing, drawing and describing the birds of America. The fact that Alexander Wilson, a self-taught naturalist like Audubon, had pursued the same goal before him and enjoyed the support of the influential Philadelphia establishment seems to have encouraged rather than deterred young Audubon. He was sure he could do better, and in his jottings he never misses an opportunity to point out mistakes and shortcomings in Wilson's work.

The Mississippi River Journal of 1820-21 is, to my mind, the most interesting part of this collection. Raw diary entries, unedited and uncorrected, give a vivid account of this expedition which started in Cincinnati on a "flat boat" and ended in New Orleans. It may come as a shock to the reader that Audubon and his companions shot and killed practically all the birds he drew and described, and often ate them afterwards. They also bought birds from other hunters or, when in a town, at local markets. All manner of birds were briskly traded as food or pets, or for ornamental purposes.
During this trip, Audubon was destitute most of the time and always eager to get a free meal from a generous host. Letters of recommendation introduced him to a number of worthies, and he often replenished his funds by drawing portraits or giving drawing lessons to the children of wealthy citizens. There was some interest in his ornithological work, but not enough to secure financial backing. Through all these disappointments and humiliations, he remained a keen observer - not only of birds and other wildlife, but also of the country and the people in it.

His fortune changed with his visit to England and Scotland. Excerpts from his 1826 Journal show his surprise and delight in being graciously received, and even lionized, by important people who arranged for him to show his work in public and enlist subscribers.
The 64 color plates included in this book are selected from watercolors, aquatint engravings and lithographs, and show the full range of Audubon's art; they include birds that were abundant at the time but are now extinct (or nearly so), such as the Passenger Pigeon, the Carolina Parakeet, and the Ivory-billed Woodpecker. Forty-five entries from his "Ornithological Biography" give a fascinating account of the life and habits of American birds. To our modern sensibilities, his writing style seems a little effusive at times, and we might prefer to see our birds depicted in less dramatic poses; but there is no doubt about his enthusiasm, and he obviously captured the Zeitgeist.

The Missouri River expedition (1843) was designed to find new species of quadrupeds. This journal is more polished than the Mississippi Journal, but I find it less appealing. Somehow, A.'s true passion seems to have been birds, not quadrupeds.

Some personal letters, essays, autobiographical notes and descriptions of his technique round out the portrait of an artist who rose from obscure origins to the highest honors (member of illustrious societies, dinner with President Andrew Jackson at the White House), and whose name is still a household word in America today.

audubon's best single collection.......2007-01-04

to be read wholly as occasional readings and very enjoyable; allows one to imagine the bird life and other wildlife in America in the days of exploration and settlement, and how much of nature we have lost.

A Masterpiece of Nature Writing.......2000-10-14

Anyone looking for a chronicle of the American wilderness in its infancy would do well to start here. There is great charm in the journals of 1820, where the spellings are still Audubon's own, and the flavor of the times -- especially regarding life on the frontier, and concerning everyday life in old New Orleans -- is everywhere. With his "Bird Biographies" of everyday varieties, as well as descriptions of now-extinct species, such as the Carolina Parakeet, and Ivory Billed Woodpeckers, this book is a treasure not just for nature lovers and bird aficianados, but for lovers of history as well.

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Yes, Size Really Does Matter
How big is it?
J.J. Audubon's Birds of America

Birds of America
John James Audubon
Manufacturer: MacMillan Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0025044508

Customer Reviews:

Yes, Size Really Does Matter.......2003-05-03

For the grump who gave this book a one-star rating (it deserves a six-star rating!), the dimensions of this oversized book are 10 1/2 X 14 1/2 inches.

Drool over the watercolours and then imagine the work that went into creating them. All yours for a fraction of the cost of the originals. A steal!

How big is it?.......2003-01-03

I want to buy the book for my elementary art class and I can't find anywhere in the descriptions if they are the same size as the origionals.

J.J. Audubon's Birds of America.......2000-04-03

This book contains the complete collection of the 435 illustrations from Audubon's famous Havell edition "Double Elephant Folio" of "Birds of America." It took 12 years, from 1826 to 1838, for Robert Havell, a 19th century London engraver, working from Audubon's detailed watercolors, to finish the project, and when it was done, the collection of 435 engravings was sold to subscribers. Today the Havell engravings are worth small fortunes individually, and it is the lucky museum or library that can boast of having a complete, original portfolio. But here in this single book, Audubon's beautiful, powerful, and extraordinarily detailed paintings can be seen by anyone interested in natural history, American romantic painting, ornithology, bird watching, etc. Audubon is one of America's most important artists and naturalists, and this book is an excellent way to get better acquainted with John James Audubon's masterpiece, "Birds of America."

The art of Audubon: The complete birds and mammals

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The art of Audubon: The complete birds and mammals
John James Audubon
Manufacturer: Times Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding

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Under a Wild Sky: John James Audubon and the Making of The Birds of America

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Audubon exposed!
A Fascinating Account of Audubon and His Art
More Insight to Audubon's Personality
A 'must' for any Audubon fan
Vivid and facinating

Under a Wild Sky: John James Audubon and the Making of The Birds of America
William Souder
Manufacturer: North Point Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0865477264
Release Date: 2005-06-16

Book Description

"Truly wonderful . . . Excellent work."--Tim Flannery, The New York Review of Books

In the century and a half since Audubon's death, his name has become synonymous with wildlife conservation and natural history. But few people know what a complicated figure he was--or the dramatic story behind The Birds of America.

Before Audubon, ornithological illustrations depicted scaled-down birds perched in static poses. Wheeling beneath storm-racked skies or ripping flesh from freshly killed prey, Audubon's life-size birds looked as if they might fly screeching off the page. The wildness in the images matched the untamed spirit in Audubon-a self-taught painter and self-anointed aristocrat who, with his buckskins and long hair, wanted to be seen as both a hardened frontiersman and a cultured man of science.

In truth, neither his friends nor his detractors ever knew exactly who Audubon was or where he came from. Tormented by a fog of ambiguities surrounding his birth, he reinvented himself ceaselessly, creating a life as dramatic as his fictionalizations of it. But when he came east at thirty-eight-broke and desperate to find a publisher for his Birds-he ran squarely into a scientific establishment still wedded to convention and suspicious of the brash newcomer and his grandiose claims. It took Audubon fifteen years to prevail in both his project and his vision. How he triumphed and what drove him is the subject of this gripping narrative.

Customer Reviews:

Audubon exposed!.......2006-07-03

I am pleased to give my unprejudiced review of Under A Wild Sky by William Souder, my son.
The author paints a picture, in words, of a 19th century complicated man, dedicated to giving his and future generations beautiful and accurate portraits of Birds Of America. This is a great book for all interested in learning about the life of the man and his work.

A Fascinating Account of Audubon and His Art.......2006-04-08

Souder's style is smooth and lively, making for a swift, engaging read. Anyone interested in birds, art, or Audubon shall read this book without regret.

Souder is strongest in two things. First, he frequently presents the scientific context to Audubon's work, though the reader is frequently reminded that Audubon was not exactly a scientist. For example, Souder discusses the history of taxonomic standards at one point, which was informative and quite interesting.

Second, Souder's narrative adaptation of Audubon's journals are excellent, particularly with regard to Audubon's accounts of the state of birds in the mid-19th century. For example, there is an astounding account of Audubon's encounter with a gigantic flock of Passenger Pigeons (now extinct).

A potential weakness of the book might actually be due to Souder's attempt to write a reasonably comprehensive biography of the man. Audubon's relationship with his wife was up-and-down, due to his travels that kept him away from home for years at a time. Their subsequent emotional roller coaster via letter-writing was chronicled by Souder at a level that shall not interest all.

More Insight to Audubon's Personality.......2006-02-24

William Souder doesn't just describe Audubon's personality. Souder appears to be Aubudon's best friend who has been watching Audubon for years. Now, Souder is telling the reader how his best friend works and what drove his friend to make "Birds of America."

A 'must' for any Audubon fan.......2005-10-12

It's been over a century since naturalist John James Audubon's death, but his fame is no less for it, and author William Souder's biography Under A Wild Sky: John James Audubon And The Making Of The Birds Of America provides both a well-researched biography and an inviting leisure read recreating Audubon's time and passion. Chapters tell of the lush abundance of species Audubon was called upon to catalog, and tells of his struggle to gain recognition for his work. A 'must' for any Audubon fan.

Vivid and facinating .......2005-01-23

Like most everyone, I have been slightly familiar with Audubon's Birds of America-but I had no insight into the man or the world that produced his famous series of meticulous paintings. From the first page, William Souder's excellent book drew me into its engrossing narrative, making the carefully researched details come alive. Because of the detail and the direct writing style, the world Souder portrays seems close and immediate-almost like today-but in many ways it was light-years from today's modern world.

In detailing Audubon the man, Souder shows us a fascinating, infuriating character, obsessive in his hunting, exploring and collecting efforts, relentless in his painting, while often oblivious to his domestic responsibilities and economic situation. Reconstructing an immense amount of research materials, Souder describes Audubon's acclaim and success in Scotland and England, leading to the historic publication of the monumental Birds of America. While cutting a flamboyant, confident figure in Europe, we also see Audubon's private torments. His incompetent letters to his wife- addressing her as "dearest friend"- provokes an extended almost tragic transatlantic misunderstanding. Reading these passages should make us forever grateful for telephones!

Under a Wild Sky is full of wonderful rich description, and for this we can thank Audubon and others for having kept detailed journals and letters. But I was most impressed with Souder's ability to write in a familiar, personal style that weaves it all into a highly readable, intelligent and entertaining narrative that-as I said before-really makes the subject come alive. Highly recommended.

John James Audubon Birds in Cross Stitch

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John James Audubon Birds in Cross Stitch
Ginnie Thompson
Manufacturer: MacMillan Publishing Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0684174294

Audubon's Birds of America Coloring Book

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must have
Reddragon
Used in my son's 1st grade class
Wonderful Detail

Audubon's Birds of America Coloring Book
John James Audubon
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 048623049X

Book Description

Forty-five of Audubon's noted illustrations rendered for coloring by Paul Kennedy: red-winged blackbird, painted bunting, wood duck, great blue heron, ruby-throated hummingbird, purple finch, blue jay, many more. Original plates reproduced in full color on covers. Common and scientific names and current range are included.

Customer Reviews:

must have.......2007-04-11

I just purchased these Dover COloring Books for my mother and she loves them. The detail is out of this world and the variety of colors you can use are only limited by your inagination. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Reddragon.......2007-03-30

The product came quickly. It was exactly as advetised and met expectations. Thank You.

Used in my son's 1st grade class.......2006-03-20

I purchased several of these coloring books to use during a first grade lesson on birds and Audubon, the artist. After learning all about Audubon, each student selected one page from the book, and referred to the colored images on the book's cover to color the page as realistically as possible. It was exciting for them to have real Audubon pictures of their own. The paper quality is excellent (not flimsy like many cheap coloring books). Many of the students asked to take an extra page home. The little descriptions on the bottom of each page were helpful, as they gave the name of the bird and a brief description of the image. I purchased a few extra to give to the teacher for future lessons.

Wonderful Detail.......2003-01-01

This is a great way to entroduce anyone to the joy of bird watching. Reading descriptions below each picture, and seeing fully illustrated versions that are included are also helpful. Taking the time to learn the shape and coloring of each bird, helps to really learn to identify a specific bird when it is seen later. This is a fun hobby for adults also. A great way to be artistic, if you have only a little talent in drawing.

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