Informative, imaginative and artistic activities for young naturalists everywhere.
Katie Scott graduated from University of Brighton in 2011. Her work draws influences from traditional medical and botanical illustration, both in aesthetic and subject matter. Her work plays with the ideas of scientific uncertainty and speculation, fabricating the inner and outer workings of the world. Her illustrations depict a familiar yet fantasy vision of plants, humans and minerals.
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.
*Lancashire Evening Post*
Children and adults who enjoyed Botanicum (Welcome To The Museum)
by Katie Scott and Kathy Willis are going to love the Botanicum
Activity Book. Don't be misled by the suggestion that the book is
aimed at the seven-plus age group: there's plenty in here for
anyone who is still capable of holding a pen or pencil.
You could treat this as a standalone activity book but young and
old will both get so much more out of the books if they're both
available, the main book for reference and the activity book to put
their knowledge into practice, to play with it a little and allow
it to become part of them. Adults and children who enjoy colouring
will enjoy the challenge of the cannonball flower, but my
particular favourite in the colouring activities was the page of
wild flowers. The result (even with my limited artistic skills) is
good enough to frame - the page can be removed with a sharp knife -
but the instruction Colour in the wild flowers needs careful
exclusion from the end result. For those who like to draw rather
than to colour there are opportunities to completes drawings (the
mirror images of half leaves was most satisfying) and for those who
are less certain of their drawing skills there are even examples
showing you how to draw certain specimens. My cycan tree didn't
turn out quite as I would have liked, but there's space for more
tries.
As a child I loved 'Spot the Difference' puzzles and I regressed
quite happily. There are several puzzles, each with ten differences
to spot and I had a lot of fun. If you get stuck the answers are on
the back of the puzzle page. There's a water-lily-leaf maze - and
I'll admit to having looked up the answer when I got stuck on that
once too often. Some pages are tests of knowledge - which plants
grow in which part of the world for example. There's nothing too
complex and - once again - the answers are there if you need
them.
The book is top quality in terms of production values. The paper is
substantial and there's no bleed through to the reverse of the page
even with dark-coloured felt-tip pens. It travels well - there's a
millboard backing which means that a table isn't always necessary.
If you do have a table you'll find that the book opens reasonably
flat - there none of the frustration of finding that the picture
you're colouring disappears into the gutter between the pages and
you can't actually get at it. The book's excellent value too. The
cover price of £8.99 might seem high for an activity book, but
there are 37 activities. Very few will engage just for minutes
(even the spot-the-difference puzzles took me quite a while to
complete and only one puzzle - the 'find the missing square' - was
quickly obvious. Some of the colouring is going to take hours. This
could give you peace on a long journey whilst it's being gently
educational!
*Book Bag*
Botanicum Activity Book by Kate Scott and Kathy Willis: This
activity book is inspired by Botanicum and is published in
association with The Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew. Published on
sturdy paper it's a fantastic activity book for nature lovers and
introduces children to many varieties of plant life. Activities
include colouring in pages, spot the difference, matching and
finish the drawings.
Favourite activities here were matching plants to the world regions
that they are found, matching carnivorous plants to their prey,
learning how to draw a pineapple and drawing the life cycle of a
dandelion. The back of each page gives extra facts so that children
can learn more in an informal way. This activity book makes
learning about plants fun!
*Story Snug*
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