Sami Bayly is such a talented artist. Many of her books, including The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Dangerous Animals, have featured in these pages before.
In this new book, she turns her eye to extinct animals providing classically sharp illustrations of each with accompanying text about the animal, from a description, its diet, where it would have been located and its habitat to fun facts and its extinction status. The status gives us an update on the reasons behind its extinction. There is also illustration giving you size perspective against a fully grown human.
Some animals have been extinct for eons, such as the Diprotodon, which is the largest marsupial to have ever lived and is related to the wombat. The Dodo was once abundant on the island of Mauritius. They were ground-dwelling birds but as man brought animals onto they island they were predated by dogs and even monkeys. The griffinfly was the largest flying insect to have ever lived with a wingspan of 75 cm and body length of 47 cm.
In her introduction Bayly says that the rate at which species are becoming extinct is 1000 to 10 000 times higher than the natural extinction rate. She hopes this book will honour the memories of these extinct animals and raise awareness for animals on the endangered list now. Before it’s too late.
Bayly’s illustrations are superb. Highly detailed, and standouts as individual works of art. But this is also an informative book with fascinating facts about these amazing extinct animals, the strange and wonderful from the land, sky and sea.
A book that should be in every library.
Reviewed by Jane Stephens
Age Guide 7+
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sami Bayly is a natural history illustrator based in Newcastle, NSW, who loves all things weird and wonderful. She finds the beauty and importance of all animals regardless of their appearance, and hopes to share her appreciation with others.
Sami’s first book, The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Ugly Animals, won the Children’s Indie Book of the Year Award and the Australian Book Design Award for Younger Readers. It was a CBCA Honour Book and was shortlisted for an ABIA Book of the Year for Younger Children and longlisted for the ABA Booksellers’ Choice 2020 Book of the Year Awards. Her second book, The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Dangerous Animals, was a CBCA Honour Book, an ABIA Book of the Year for Younger Children, won an Australian Book Design Award for Younger Readers and was shortlisted for the Children’s Indie Book of the Year 2020. The final book in the series, The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Peculiar Pairs, was shortlisted for the CBCA Eve Pownall Award and longlisted for Children’s Indie Book of the Year Award. Sami’s most recent book is How We Came to Be: Surprising Sea Creatures.
Sami is currently based in Newcastle, NSW.
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