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ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Finding Home
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: jennidesmond.com
CITY: London, England
STATE:
COUNTRY: United Kingdom
NATIONALITY: British
LAST VOLUME: SATA 335
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in England in 1984; married; children: two daughters.
EDUCATION:Sussex University, B.A., 2006; attended Chelsea School of Art and Putney School of Art; Cambridge School of Art, M.A., 2011.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author, artist, and illustrator. Folded Paper Wedding Invitations, cofounder with Caro Hutchings. Teacher of English in France for one year. Exhibitions: Work exhibited at galleries in London, England, including Royal Academy of Art, Affordable Art Fair, the Poundshop, Netil House, and A-side B-side Gallery, and elsewhere, including Old Firestation Gallery, Henley-on-Thames, England, 2009, and locations in Germany, Italy, and New York.
AVOCATIONS:Cooking, swimming, hiking, being outdoors.
AWARDS:Cambridgeshire Read It Again Picture-Book Award, 2013, for Red Cat, Blue Cat; Batchelder Award, 2014, for Mister Orange; Best Emerging Talent (Illustrator), Junior Design Awards, 2015; Maurice Sendak Fellow, 2016; Best Illustrated Children’s Books citation, New York Times, 2016, for The Polar Bear; Best Nonfiction Picture Book, Children’s Book Review, 2018, for The Elephant; Quiz Writers Choice Award, 2024, for The Wovles of Yellowstone.
WRITINGS
Contributor to educational materials. Author of a blog. Author’s works have been translated into twenty-five languages.
SIDELIGHTS
Jenni Desmond is a British author and illustrator of children’s books, including her award-winning 2012 debut, Red Cat, Blue Cat. In a Read Me interview, Desmond explained how drawing appealed to her as a youth: “I drew constantly as a child. I think I found it easier to express my emotions using drawings. If I was angry I would draw myself stomping and shouting. If I was happy and excited I drew myself leaping about doing cartwheels and handstands.” Beyond picture books, Desmond has extended her artistic talents to the fields of editorial illustration, textile design, cards, ceramics, and printmaking. She has drawn inspiration from illustrators including Maurice Sendak and Anne Herbauts and from artists including Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. She is also fond of Japanese aesthetics and has learned about different textures and structures from her architect partner.
Desmond earned plaudits for her self-illustrated nonfiction picture book The Blue Whale, one of her several titles revolving around the natural world. A young boy, reading a book himself, leads the reader through a study of the blue whale, covering its stupendous size, diet, habits, and other facts. The mixed-media illustrations, which bring the boy’s informational imagination to life, employ cut paper, paints, and crayons. A Publishers Weekly reviewer admired how the illustrations “exude warmth and quiet humor” in this “thorough, rewarding tribute to a majestic animal.” A Children’s Bookwatch writer hailed the “striking, somewhat abstractly stylized” pictures and called The Blue Whale “enlightening and educational,” and a Kirkus Reviews writer proclaimed that “whale lovers will breach with happiness over this rich, artful mix of fact and frolic.”
Employing the same style of educational exploration as in The Blue Whale, Desmond wrote and illustrated The Polar Bear. With a young Inuit girl reading a book, the reader as well is led through an imaginative exploration of the facts of polar bears’ lives as explorers, hunters, and parents. In Booklist, Kay Weisman affirmed that the “lyric prose … and gorgeous mixed-media illustrations” make for an “enlightening and beautiful offering.” Betty Carter, in Horn Book, liked how the narrative’s opening, with the girl reading the same book as the real-life child, “creates an immediate bond with readers.”
A Kirkus Reviews writer admired the pictures in The Polar Bear as “lovely” but was somewhat critical of the whole, observing that the imaginative illustrations can be confusing to young readers, while the pressing concern of environmental threats from global warming is related only secondarily, in an author’s note. More positively, in School Library Journal, Jody Kopple had praise for the narrative’s “metafictional flair,” the “charming” illustrations, and the “engaging” text, all of which contribute to the “lush feel and quality of the work” and combine to make The Polar Bear “a must-have for elementary nonfiction collections everywhere.”
In Albert’s Tree, another self-illustrated title, Desmond tells the story of a bear who awakes from hibernation to be mystified by the fact that his favorite fir, Tree, apparently will not stop crying. Various inventive solutions to Tree’s emotional plight are tried, but not until Albert offers a hug does the truth—and a frightened little friend—make itself known. A Kirkus Reviews writer called Albert’s Tree “as cozy and familiar as a teddy bear’s embrace,” while “smart touches elevate the story.” The writer concluded that of all the cute-talking-bear stories out there, “few are as cleverly put together and as witty” as this one.
Among books illustrated by Desmond for other authors, On the Night of the Shooting Star, by Amy Hest, follows Dog and Bunny as, long divided by a fence, they are inspired to befriend each other when they are both outside at night to witness a shooting star. In Booklist, Carolyn Phelan affirmed, “With an air of innocence and spontaneity, Desmond’s mixed-media illustrations offer two lovably bashful characters, nicely varied compositions, and night scenes in which … real change (even friendship) seems magically possible.” Brianne Colombo, reviewing On the Night of the Shooting Star in School Library Journal, declared that “full-page images and small vignettes alike are playfully imagined with charming details that readers will enjoy viewing again and again.”
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The Elephant, a follow-up to The Blue Whale and The Polar Bear, is a nonfiction book about the beloved but endangered elephant. As with the earlier books, a young boy acts as the narrator and provides information about both Asian and African elephants. There are illustrations of the two kinds of elephants, including how they are different, as well as maps of where they can be found. Other information includes how much food they eat in a day (a spectacular amount!) as well as other interesting facts. Desmond’s illustrations are a combination of colored pencil, paint, and collage.
Betty Carter, in Horn Book, praised the book for how it “imparts complicated facts through clear and clean layouts.” She was even more enthusiastic about the illustrations themselves, describing them as “informative and beautifully executed.” A writer in Publishers Weekly enjoyed the book as well, calling it an “affectionate and informative celebration of two magnificent species.” They lauded the book’s “memorable facts.” In Booklist, Julia Smith wrote, “Desmond’s illustrations are showstoppers.” She also praised Desmond’s prose as “precise and inviting.”
As Desmond’s career has continued, she has focused more on illustrating the works of other authors. In Migration: Incredible Animal Journeys, author Mike Unwin describes how a variety of animals migrate over long distances. Some migrate to find better weather, others to return to where they raise their young, others to find food and water. Twenty different animals and their migratory patterns are described. Desmond uses a variety of media, including watercolor, crayon, and ink, to create vivid illustrations of the animals and their habitats.
“It is [Desmond’s] images that make this oversize album stand out,” wrote a contributor in Kirkus Reviews. The reviewer noted that the book is written from a European perspective, with the focus on animals that migrate to and from that continent. A writer in Publishers Weekly wrote that the “expert” illustrations “shimmer on the page, capturing the fragility and abundance of the natural world.”
Be Bold, Bob, a picture book written by Jane Porter and illustrated by Desmond, is about an elephant who suffers from stage fright. He would love to sing in front of people, but he gets too nervous. His friend, a pangolin that plays the ukelele, shares a secret with him about how she handles being nervous, and that saves the day. A writer in Kirkus Reviews praised Porter’s “warmly soothing text.” Regarding the illustrations, they wrote, “Desmond’s mixed-media images feature vividly hued watercolorlike washes of green and blue.” The result is a book that “hits all the right notes.”
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BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, January 1, 2013, Carolyn Phelan, review of Mister Orange, p. 100; December 1, 2016, Kay Weisman, review of The Polar Bear, p. 52; May 15, 2015, Carolyn Phelan, review of The Blue Whale, p. 48; August 1, 2017, Carolyn Phelan, review of On the Night of the Shooting Star, p. 70; March 1, 2018, Kay Weisman, review of Albert’s Tree, p. 53; November 15, 2018, Julia Smith, review of The Elephant, p. 43; November 1, 2020, Emily Graham, review of Snow Birds, p. 51; March 1, 2022, Sarah Hunter, review of The Wolves of Yellowstone, p. 46.
Children’s Bookwatch, June, 2015, review of The Blue Whale.
Horn Book, March-April, 2013, Sarah Ellis, review of Mister Orange, p. 112; March-April, 2017, Betty Carter, review of The Polar Bear, p. 106; January-February, 2019, Betty Carter, review of The Elephant, p. 113.
Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2012, review of Red Cat, Blue Cat; December 1, 2012, review of Mister Orange; March 15, 2015, review of The Blue Whale; October 15, 2016, review of The Polar Bear; June 15, 2017, review of On the Night of the Shooting Star; March 1, 2018, review of Albert’s Tree; July 1, 2018, review of I Have a Little Seedling; May 15, 2019, review of Migration: Incredible Animal Journeys; October 1, 2022, review of Puffin; December 1, 2024, review of Finding Home: Amazing Places Animals Live; March 15, 2025, review of Be Bold, Bob.
Publishers Weekly, November 26, 2012, review of Mister Orange; December 2, 2015, review of The Blue Whale, p. 43; November 27, 2018, review of The Elephant, p. 102; November 27, 2019, review of Migration, p. 89; April 27, 2020, review of Joy, p. 54; May 29, 2023, review of One World: 24 Hours on Planet Earth, p. 115.
School Library Journal, January, 2013, Vicki Reutter, review of Mister Orange, p. 119; February, 2013, Anne Beier, review of Red Cat, Blue Cat, p. 72; May, 2015, Maggie Chase, review of The Blue Whale, p. 130; December, 2016, Jody Kopple, review of The Polar Bear, p. 130; August, 2017, Brianne Colombo, review of On the Night of the Shooting Star, p. 72; March, 2018, Ramarie Beaver, review of Albert’s Tree, p. 80.
ONLINE
Jenni Desmond weblog, https://jennidesmond.blogspot.com/ (
Jenni Desmond website, http://jennidesmond.com (July 24, 2025).
Let’s Talk Picture Books, https://www.letstalkpicturebooks.com/ (September 17, 2019), author interview.
Literati, https://blog.literatibooks.com/ (June 1, 2017), Gaby Brabazon, “Interview with Featured Illustrator Jenni Desmond.”
Read Me, http://www.readmeblogsite.net/ (June 20, 2017), author interview.*
Jenni Desmond_153.jpg
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Jenni Desmond b.1984 is an artist, illustrator and picture book maker.
She is the illustrator or author/illustrator of over 20 books and can be read in 25 languages all over the world. Her books have been featured as a best book of the year in publications such as The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, The Guardian, Huffington Post, Brainpickings, and Washington Post. In 2016 she became a Sendak Fellow, and her non-fiction book The Polar Bear was a New York Times Best Illustrated book. She's been nominated twice for the Kate Greenaway Medal, and her debut won the Cambridgeshire Children's Picture Book Award.
An eternal optimist, Jenni seeks beauty, humour, energy, warmth and compassion in everything and everyone she draws.
Jenni mostly works on books using watercolour, ink, acrylic paint, crayons, drypoint and photoshop. She sometimes also enjoys making wobbly clay pots, printmaking and textile designs as well as paintings to hang on walls or in other places. She likes to experiment and do new things to keep her work fresh and her practice fun.
Jenni lives in east London UK with her husband who is an architect and their two young daughters. When she's not in her studio, you'll find her covered in mud and plants in the garden, cycling her bike around and swapping city life for hikes down by the sea shore or up in the hills and the mountains.
For more information here are some things - - -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyJMguHEh2k
(A video chat with Jane Porter about making Be Bold Bob: 2024)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6EfPsupb-s&t=756s
(A video chat about making Fourteen Wolves: 2021)
http://jennidesmond.blogspot.co.uk/2017/06/interview-translated-with-noblesse.html
(A discussion about her work and daily routine: 2017)
http://jennidesmond.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/the-maurice-sendak-fellowship-week-1-of.html
(A blog post about the Sendak Fellowship: 2016)
http://jennidesmond.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/how-red-cat-blue-cat-came-to-be.html
(How Jenni made her very first picture book, Red Cat Blue Cat: 2012)
ACTIVITIES - - -
One World teachers notes
(CLPE Teachers Notes: One World)
https://www.abramsbooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Snow-Birds-Activity-Pages.pdf
(Snow Birds - parent and teacher activity kit)
https://www.instagram.com/tv/B-KNB7XlMU7/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
(Instagram - how to draw Bunny and Dog)
http://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/gallery/2015/jun/06/how-to-draw-a-sunset
(The Guardian: How to draw a sunset)
https://media.bloomsbury.com/rep/files/Migration_Teacher_Notes.pdf
(Teacher Notes: Migration)
http://1jedk1xgcj74afi5d3cvra21.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Zebra_Who_Ran_too_fast_activity.pdf
(The Zebra Who Ran Too Fast activity page)
AWARDS:
Nominated - CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal'19 (Migration UK)
Nominated - CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal'22 (Fourteen Wolves UK)
Sendak Fellowship recipient '16 (USA)
Winner - A New York Times Best Illustrated Children's Book '16 (The Polar Bear USA)
Winner - Quiz Writer's Choice Award '24 (Fourteen Wolves UK)
Winner - Nautilus Book Awards '20 (Migration USA)
Winner - Prix Des Incorruptibles '16 (Red Cat Blue Cat - France)
Winner - National Prize for Reading/ Premio Nati per Leggere '19 (The Blue Whale - Italy)
Winner - Vlag en Wimpel '16 (The Blue Whale - Netherlands)
Winner - Leipziger Lesekompass '17 (Albert's Tree - Germany)
Winner - Junior Design Awards - Best Emerging Talent: Illustrator '15 (The First Slodge UK)
Winner - Batchelder Award'14 (Mister Orange USA)
Winner - The Cambridgeshire Children's Picture Book Award'13 (Red Cat Blue Cat UK)
Shortlisted - UK Literary Association Awards UKLA '22 (Fourteen Wolves UK)
Shortlisted - Andersen Prize '22 (Fourteen Wolves Italy)
Shortlisted - James Cropper Wainwright Prize '22 (One World UK)
Shortlisted - Royal Society Young People's Book Prize '22 (Fourteen Wolves UK)
Shortlisted - German Literature Prize '19 (Migration - Germany)
Shortlisted - Red Clover Award Vermont '17 (The Blue Whale USA)
Shortlisted - Sakura Medal Japan '17 (The Blue Whale Japan)
Shortlisted - English 4-11 Picture Book Awards '16 (The First Slodge UK)
Shortlisted - Le Prix du Livre Environnement '22 (Fourteen Wolves France)
Honour Award - Maryland Blue Crab Young Reader Award '16 (The Blue Whale USA)
Honour Award - EURIKA! '18 (The Elephant USA)
Bronze Award - Prima Baby Awards '16 (The First Slodge UK)
Longlisted - School Library Association (SLA) Award '25 (Finding Home)
Longlisted - UK Literary Association Awards '16 (The First Slodge UK)
Longlisted - North Somerset Teacher Book Award '16 (The First Slodge UK)
CLIENTS INCLUDE:
Zara
Walker Books (UK)
WWF (UK)
Simon & Schuster/Little Simon (USA)
Papyrus (USA)
Oxford University Press (UK)
National Portrait Gallery (UK)
NEXT (UK)
Little Tiger Books (UK)
Kyle Books (UK)
Hachette (UK)
Fuji Sangyo Stationary (Japan)
Enchanted Lion Books (USA)
CardMix (UK)
Camden Graphics (UK)
Candlewick Press (USA)
Bloomsbury (UK)
Blue Apple Books (USA)
Abrams (USA)
EXHIBITIONS INCLUDE:
Society of Illustrators Original Art Exhibition (New York)
Krumulus bookshop/gallery - The Polar Bear solo exhibition (Berlin: Germany)
Summer Exhibition: Royal Academy of Art (London)
Affordable Art Fair (London)
The Poundshop: London Design Week/ KK Outlet/ ICA (London)
Netil House - solo exhibition (London)
Lo Sguardo Obliquo (Bari: Italy)
Buecherpiraten - artist of the year (Lubeck: Germany)
A-side B-side Gallery: Call of the Wild/ A Long Way From Home/House of Tigers (London)
Telling Tales: Avery Contemporary Art (Kent)
EDUCATION:
MA Childrens Book Illustration (Cambridge School of Art ARU), 2011
BA English and Art History (Sussex University), 2006
Art Foundation (Reading college) 2003
I am a london-based illustrator and artist. For any questions please contact me at jennidesmond@hotmail.co.uk. All images are are copyright Jenni Desmond 2014. Please do not under any circumstances copy without consent. jennidesmond.com
September 17, 2019
Let's Talk Illustrators #118: Jenni Desmond
I was lucky enough to chat with Jenni Desmond about her newest picture book Migration, written by Mike Unwin. Jenni is known for working on books with environmental themes, and her illustrations in Migration are another feather in her overflowing cap of beautiful books. Enjoy our conversation!
About the book:
Animals of all shapes and sizes make epic journeys across our planet, through harsh weather, avoiding hungry predators, in their efforts to survive. Travel around the globe with some of the world's most incredible animals and discover their unique migration stories.
Follow the emperor penguin through snow, ice and bitter temperatures; watch as the great white shark swims 10,000 km in search of seals; track huge herds of elephants, on their yearly hunt for water and be amazed at the millions of red crabs, migrating across Christmas Island.
Follow the amazing migrations of these 20 creatures: Arctic tern, barn swallow, bar-headed goose, ruby-throated hummingbird, osprey, wandering albatross, whooping crane, emperor penguin, African elephant, blue wildebeest, caribou, straw-coloured fruit bat, humpback whale, green turtle, Southern pilchard, salmon, great white shark, monarch butterfly, globe skimmer dragonfly, Christmas Island red crab
Let's talk Jenni Desmond!
LTPB: How did you become the illustrator of Migration?
JD: Migration came about when Bloomsbury UK paired Mike Unwin and I together. His writing for the book is so beautiful and enticing, it tells the true story of each animal in a way that is really absorbing and really sparks the imagination. What an honour to illustrate such work!
LTPB: This book (and many of your books!) are rooted in nonfiction and center around endangered animals. Where do you find your inspiration? What kind of research do you do?
JD: I despair about climate change, and about how human beings are slowly taking over the natural world. It makes me really sad. I hope to be able to do my tiny bit in this world by trying to inspire people, especially the next generation, about nature and have material for them to learn more from. I try not to preach, as I don’t think that’s particularly helpful to be honest, but instead I try to instill a love of animals and nature and the environment so that they (and adults of course) genuinely care and want to help. When making my books I do a lot of research, mostly reading long text books about the animals and watching many, many videos and documentaries. I also try to see the animals in real life whenever I can.
LTPB: What differences have you found between creating a picture book on your own (text and illustrations) versus illustrating someone else’s text? When you do both, which do you generally start with?
JD: Illustrating someone else text is really enjoyable for me as the framework is already in place and then its my job to push the boundaries that the text has given me. When you write it too, ANYTHING can happen because you are able to change the writing, and then your brain goes this way and that way and up there and then sometimes explodes (especially when writing fiction). However if it doesn’t explode, its extremely fulfilling to hold a book in your hand that you did entirely yourself. Of course its never really by yourself as there are so many other industry people involved too, especially the editors and designers. If I’m writing it, I’ll normally start with the text but I’m always aware of the pictures and normally do rough little drawings alongside.
LTPB: What did you use to create the illustrations in this book? Is this your preferred medium?
JD: Each book I work on I decide what is the most appropriate medium to use for the story and for the audience, but its often quite similar to the techniques I used for Migration. Here, I used ink, watercolour, acrylic, pencil crayons and then a form of printmaking called drypoint, where you scratch the image onto a metal plate with a sharp instrument, and then put ink into the plate, damp paper on top of that, and then it goes through a big roller. It’s really fun to do and really inspiring for me to be in a big airy print studio smelling the inks, getting really messy, and watching the ducks go by on the canal outside. Drypoint is probably my favourite medium, and its much quicker than etching too which I don’t really have the patience for. I like to keep trying new things as it feels important to keep the thrill of discovering and happy accidents to keep advancing your work. I then scan everything into the computer and work on it in photoshop to make it look exactly how I want. I can be much freer if I know it doesn't have to be perfect and can be cleaned up in photoshop.
LTPB: What are you working on now?
JD: I had a baby last year and so I’ve slowed down a little recently, but I’ve just finished my next book which is called Snow Birds which will be out in 2020, and I’m now starting a new non fiction which I’m really excited about. It’s been quite interesting actually having my own child while doing picture books. I’ve always made books for the child I was and I think that I’m quite in tune with what it feels like to be a young one. I dont really see it to be very different to how I see the world now to be honest. So I’ve always made books for my inner child but I didn’t have actual children to read things to most of the time. Josephine has made me understand things in picture books that I didn’t care about so much before, and so as a mother I'm finding this new stage of looking at picture books fascinating.
A million thanks to Jenni for taking time to answers some questions! Migration published last month from Bloomsbury Children's Books.
Special thanks to Jenni and Bloomsbury for use of these images!
Meister, Cari I HAVE A LITTLE SEEDLING Little Simon/Simon & Schuster (Children's Fiction) $7.99 4, 10 ISBN: 978-1-5344-1002-2
Newborns and toddlers will miss this gentle board book's subtleties, but new moms will get the message: Babies grow all too quickly.
Meister mimics the rhythm and rhyme of the old nursery song about catkins, "I Have a Little Pussy," to describe a seedling's growth. Consistent syllable counts and unforced rhymes make the four-line stanzas read smoothly. Meanwhile the illustrations show both a seedling and a baby growing up. A patient gray pussycat on each spread observes their progress and echoes the pussy willows of the origin rhyme. The story starts on the cover. A mom cuddling a blanket-wrapped baby sits in a swing hung from a mature tree. Over the course of five verses spread over 14 pages, the titular seedling is planted, tended, and grows into a sapling as the baby goes from sleeping newborn to preschool child reading independently under that sapling. In between are playful images of the growing baby pulling the cat's tail, toddling in a rainstorm, "helping" pull weeds near the seedling, and pushing the cat in a cart. Elements in the illustrations suggest growth and seasonal changes. The baby's onesie has tiny leaves; the toddler's shorts have slightly larger leaves; the child's book cover and T-shirt are decorated with trees. The final illustration of the mother pushing the child in the swing under the blooming tree brings the story full circle. Both mother and child have pale skin.
Expect oohs and aahs when planted at a baby shower. (Board book. 1-3)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Meister, Cari: I HAVE A LITTLE SEEDLING." Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2018. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A544637776/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=6887ad01. Accessed 13 June 2025.
* The Elephant.
By Jenni Desmond. Illus. by the author.
2018. Enchanted Lion, $18.95 (9781592702640). K-Gr. 3.599.67.
The caring nature, intelligence, and incredible size of elephants shine through in Desmond's magnificent presentation of these mammals. She invites readers into her book by way of a young, smiling boy who is wearing a red paper crown and enthusiastically reading the very same elephant book. Those pages become our pages, and a description of the two elephant species living today (African and Asian), both their ranges and side-by-side physical comparisons, fill the next two double-page spreads. Desmond's illustrations are showstoppers, using watercolor, acrylic, pencil, crayons, and a drypoint printmaking technique. A muted palette of browns, grays, musty greens, and cream characterizes the elephants' habitat, but the boy's world pops with primary colors, including familiar objects inserted into scenes for scale. In one spread, a wrinkled, hairy trunk gently picks up a small red berry, and its textures are so well rendered that readers will want to reach out to touch the elephants rough skin. Also included are general characteristics--such as foot structure, tusk length ("two seven-year-old children [lying] toe to toe"), and excellent hearing--and habits, like cooling down in mud, living in matriarchal family groups, and mourning their dead. Desmond's writing is precise and inviting, calling attention to the elephant's role as a keystone species and humans' roles in elephants' diminishing numbers. A memorable introduction to a living wonder.--Julia Smith
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Smith, Julia. "The Elephant." Booklist, vol. 115, no. 6, 15 Nov. 2018, p. 43. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A563682582/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=40d1cbbd. Accessed 13 June 2025.
Unwin, Mike MIGRATION Bloomsbury (Children's Informational) $18.99 8, 6 ISBN: 978-1-5476-0097-7
From humpback whales to green turtles, 20 examples of seasonal migration illustrate remarkable animal journeys.
Spread by spread, Unwin, who writes regularly about wildlife, provides a brief description of these animals' journeys. His informal and engaging exposition is set directly on gentle paintings of these creatures in a customary environment. Desmond's art, created with watercolor, acrylic, ink, pencil, and pencil crayon, incorporates a paragraph of additional information about each species. It is her images that make this oversize album stand out. Caribou swim across an Arctic river; monarch butterflies fill a forest of evergreens in Mexico; red crabs swarm across a road on Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean. There are both familiar and unfamiliar bird migrations: emperor penguin, Arctic tern, wandering albatross, ruby-throated hummingbird, bar-headed goose, and whooping crane. There are bats; pilchard and salmon; African elephants and wildebeest. This is a U.K. import, and American readers may be surprised by the European examples of animals that also migrate in the Western Hemisphere: great white sharks, barn swallows, and osprey. A different point of view is refreshing, but North American teachers and librarians will want to make sure that they also have books that show these animals closer to home. Since publication in Great Britain in 2018, at least one fact has already become outdated. The use of ultralights to aid whooping crane migration was discontinued in 2016.
An attractive addition to units on migration in the primary or middle grades. (map) (Informational picture book. 6-10)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2019 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Unwin, Mike: MIGRATION." Kirkus Reviews, 15 May 2019. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A585227089/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=feadb32a. Accessed 13 June 2025.
Yasmeen Ismail, illus. by Jenni Desmond.
Candlewick, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-53620934-1
A bouncing ball hops across a living room, its trail a dotted line: "Bounce bounce boing boing ding-a-ling ring ring let's sing!" Nonsense words by Ismail (Nuts) voice the cheerful chaos that a kitten leaves behind as it discovers the joy of play; a knocked-over laundry rack and festoons of red yarn testify to earlier exuberance. The mother cat watches as the ball boinks across the room, ringing a metal lampshade and bonking a Great Dane's ears ("I feel joy!" says the kitten, following it). Then the kitten trips, slips, bounces down a flight of stairs: "Crash bang wallop bonk-a-donk donk ow." The mother cat is on the scene in a flash: "Now, look at me. Are you all right?/ Did you get a little fright?" She licks her kitten and hoists it back to bed for cuddling. Reassured, the kitten is restored in a moment and ready to play. Feather-light artwork by Desmond (The Elephant) comprises dashes of bright color (the laundry), feathery green leaves (of houseplants), and strong, simple forms (of big dog and cat), which invite readers to follow cause-and-effect trails while underscoring the healing power of parental attention. Ages 3-7. (June)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
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"Joy." Publishers Weekly, vol. 267, no. 17, 27 Apr. 2020, p. 54. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A624295364/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ca2c6339. Accessed 13 June 2025.
now Birds. By Kirsten Hall. Illus. by Jenni Desmond. Nov. 2020.40p. Abrams, $17.99 (9781419742033). PreS-Gr. 2.811.
In colder climates, winter can appear devoid of life, but while humans hunker indoors, plenty of other creatures brave the frigid temperatures. The book jumps in at the tail end of autumn as birds prepare for the long winter ahead: a blue jay stores peanuts while a wren searches for a cozy spot to nest. A flock of snow buntings announces that a flurry has arrived, and a chilly, white landscape takes over the pages. Owls hunt on a frozen plain, puffins dive in a frigid sea, and kinglets huddle for warmth. The cold seems never to end, until a bright pair of cardinals signals that spring is on its way! Each bird gets a beautiful twopage spread and an accompanying poem filled with onomatopoeic goodness: redpolls "chit," and sparrows "teely-wit." Desmond's soft, detailed illustrations capture a snow grouse's cozy burrow or the starkness of a snowy owl against a moonlit landscape, with Hall's effervescent poems begging to be read aloud. Brief back matter allows the author to expand on each bird.--Emily Graham
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2020 American Library Association
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Graham, Emily. "Snow Birds." Booklist, vol. 117, no. 5-6, 1 Nov. 2020, p. 51. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A643989176/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e5069026. Accessed 13 June 2025.
* The Wolves of Yellowstone: A Rewilding Story. By Catherine Barr. Illus. by Jenni Desmond. Apr. 2022. 48p. Bloomsbury, $23.99 (9781547607983). Gr. 1-5. 333.95.
Artful writing and comprehensive research combine in this wide-ranging, lyrical picture book about returning wolves to the Yellowstone ecosystem. Desmond's soft but poignant illustrations set a strong tone, with soulful portraits of individual wolves, vast landscapes of mountains and meadows, and scenes of wolves ranging through the habitat. It's a compelling accompaniment to the rigorous science in Barr's text (longer than what you typically find in a picture book), which addresses the state of the ecosystem before the wolves returned, tensions with area ranchers who objected to the initiative, the slow process of getting the 14 wolves acclimated to the park, and the gradual but steady recovery of a healthy and balanced ecosystem once the wolves were reintroduced. Beyond the immediate benefits of, for instance, elk-population control, the wolves' presence in the park led to renewed biodiversity across the board, as well as some surprising results, like stabilized riverbanks. Richly detailed back matter includes the ultimate fate of the original 14 wolves brought to the park, a succinct chart explaining trophic cascade, and information about other rewilding efforts across the globe. The book ends on a note about continued resistance to rewilding efforts, emphasizing the role human communities have in maintaining healthy ecosystems. This captivating, illuminating exploration of rewilding is dense with science and reassuring in its message that unbalanced ecosystems can be repaired with thoughtful, sustained policy changes.--Sarah Hunter
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Hunter, Sarah. "The Wolves of Yellowstone: A Rewilding Story." Booklist, vol. 118, no. 13, 1 Mar. 2022, p. 46. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A697176962/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=d037ed4e. Accessed 13 June 2025.
Jenkins, Martin PUFFIN Candlewick (Children's None) $17.99 11, 15 ISBN: 978-1-5362-2850-2
Tracing part of the annual cycle of a favorite northern bird, a naturalist takes an avian couple from puffins to puffling parents.
Declaring puffins to be his "absolute favorite" seabird, Jenkins begins with their return to nesting areas in spring, where they reunite (when they can) with mates, clack beaks, and waddle off to inspect former burrows in sea cliffs. After driving off squatters and doing a bit of housecleaning, male and female puffins then share nesting duties until their huge single egg hatches. Six or so weeks later, the drab chick appears and, if conditions are right, matures and eventually flaps off to survive (if it can) and find a mate of its own. The author enlarges on embedded facts about puffin diet and predators with backmatter on geographical distribution and maturation; along with portraits of the three species of puffin, Desmond supplies fetching but realistically detailed views of Atlantic puffins flying, perched on a grassy hillside, and winging underwater--with, as evidently required in all picture books about these photogenic birds, the obligatory row of small fish hanging from its colorful beak. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A fond first intro with no anthropomorphizing. (index, websites) (Informational picture book. 6-8)
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"Jenkins, Martin: PUFFIN." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Oct. 2022. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A719982878/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b192d804. Accessed 13 June 2025.
One World: 24 Hours on Planet Earth
Nicola Davies, illus. by Jenni Desmond. Candlewick, $18.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-5362-2613-3
Davies and Desmond use time zones as the framing for a conservation-oriented tour of Earth in this eye-opening journey led by two kids, both portrayed with brown skin. The pair begin at nearly midnight in Greenwich, London, then head to Svalbard at 1 a.m., where they spot a polar bear mother and cubs: "Every year now the ice melts earlier, making hunting hard. The future of this little family is not certain." At 8 a.m., they swim among whale sharks in the Philippines, while a 4 p.m. stop at California's Pinnacles National Park finds them nestled in a red wildflower. On each page, text contrasts the beauty of the setting with the danger lurking from human-caused environmental damage. Lushly imagined mixed-media illustrations offer a birds-eye view, suggesting the vastness of the planet with documentary-style spreads of penguins dotting the snow far into the horizon or hundreds of baby sea turtles covering a moonlit beach. The suggestion that all this ecological magic exists at the same time buttresses the direct call to save the Earth. Creators' notes conclude. Ages 6-9. (Mar.)
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"One World: 24 Hours on Planet Earth." Publishers Weekly, vol. 270, no. 22, 29 May 2023, p. 115. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A753088969/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=11a32e22. Accessed 13 June 2025.
Desmond, Jenni FINDING HOME Bloomsbury (Children's None) $19.99 3, 4 ISBN: 9781526638281
A wide-angled survey of homes occupied or created by wild animals.
Home, the author writes, "is where an animal feels safe." Each animal, described in meticulous detail, uses unique materials or strategic designs that offer protection--if not always comfort. Female rhinoceros hornbill birds wall themselves up inside trees with their eggs for four months, leaving just a small gap through which the male passes food. Most of the animals portrayed are diggers or builders, with some exceptions; oxpeckers, clownfish, and remoras are examples of small creatures that associate commensally with larger species. Except for an opening peek into a polar bear's dug-out snow den, Desmond sticks to external views, an approach that isn't always helpful; readers can examine the finely drawn structures of a beaver dam and the giant clay cooling towers built by cathedral termites, but images of the beavers' actual den and the underground colony are entirely absent. Still, graceful and accurately detailed nature scenes are full of such marvels: the "musical chairs" strawberry hermit crabs of different sizes playing with one another's discarded shells, masses of Mexican free-tailed bats hanging in a Texas cave, and a pair of astonishingly adept tailor birds stitching together the edges of a leaf to create a cozy, pocketlike nest.
Natural engineering at its most astonishing.(Informational picture book. 8-11)
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"Desmond, Jenni: FINDING HOME." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Dec. 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A817945829/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=8504b2ba. Accessed 13 June 2025.
Porter, Jane BE BOLD, BOB Candlewick (Children's None) $18.99 6, 3 ISBN: 9781536240641
A shy elephant longs to perform in public.
As the other forest animals rehearse for the Big Show, Bob withdraws. He wishes he could join them, but whenever he tries to sing, his ears become warm, his trunk gets tangled up, and all that comes out is a little squeak. In private, though, he's an enthusiastic singer, and when a friendly pangolin named Paloma overhears him, she's impressed and offers some sound advice: "Nobody minds if you get it wrong!" She even grabs her ukelele and rehearses with him. As Bob's confidence grows, he starts believing in himself and prepares to share his song at the Big Show. He's still racked by worries, but he's determined to be brave--after all, Paloma will be by his side. Unfortunately, her ukelele strings snap just before the two are scheduled to go on. Bob flees the stage and hides, but when he hears Paloma crying ("I let Bob down"), he returns, takes a deep breath, and raises his "big, bold, and beautiful" voice in song. Desmond's mixed-media images feature vividly hued watercolorlike washes of green and blue, and when Bob finally summons his courage, Pollock-esque splatters of color dot the pages. Porter's warmly soothing text carries Bob along to a triumphant ending sure to embolden other reluctant performers.
A tale of stage fright conquered that hits all the right notes.(Picture book. 5-7)
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"Porter, Jane: BE BOLD, BOB." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Mar. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A830532363/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=c0a02050. Accessed 13 June 2025.