| Jo Brown | Short Books | 2020 | Hardback | 112 Pages | ISBN: 9781780724379 | £14.99p |
The Publisher’s View:
Artist and illustrator Jo Brown started keeping her nature diary in a bid to document the small wonders of the wood behind her home in Devon. This book is an exact replica of her original black Moleskin journal, a rich illustrated memory of Jo’s discoveries in the order in which she found them.
In enchanting, minute detail she zooms in on a bog beacon mushroom, a buff-tailed bumble-bee, or a native bluebell. And she notes facts about their physiology and life history. Secrets of a Devon Wood is a treat for the senses, a hymn to the intricate beauty of the natural world and a quiet call to arms for all of us to acknowledge and preserve it. It is a book that will stay with you long after you finally put it down.
The Author: Jo Brown is a professional illustrator and a blogging sensation. She graduated from Falmouth College of Arts in 2000 with a BA Honours in Illustration. She works from her home studio in Teignmouth. This is her first book.
Fatbirder View:
This really is a delightful book. I didn’t really expect it to be what it is, more or less a handwritten diary with loads of super illustrations.
It’s very much what one might have seen written by a Victorian country vicar with the same gentle combination of educative and entertainment qualities.
I’ve nothing else to say, just that I really, really enjoyed it and totally love the style.
The paper dust jacket covers a superb hard cover that it’s a shame most people won’t even know is there.
As the blurb says, just for once totally accurately, ‘it’s a treat for the senses’.
Fatbirder