Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
John Audubon: Young Naturalist
Illustrator: Cathy Morrison
For ages 8 to 12
Patria Press, 2006 ISBN: 978-1882859528
When young John Audubon left the island of Haiti with his family he was worried that he would never see the swallows again. He was therefore delighted when he encountered these charming little birds swooping through the skies outside his new home in the town of Nantes in France. There were many things to get used to in this new country. John now had a mother and thankfully the new Madame Audubon quickly grew to love her young son; she loved to indulge his many interests and tastes. She even put up with all the animals he brought into the house as well as the bird’s egg collections and the bird corpses that John stuffed and added to his every growing personal natural history museum.
Summers in the country and winters in town were spent pleasantly as John grew into a young man. One thing that did not change was John’s interest in birds and his dream that he would one day be able to paint these beautiful and fascinating creatures. It was to John’s great credit and our good luck, that this exceptional ornithologist did indeed become a superb painter of birds; a painter who has enthralled generations of naturalists with his outstanding book “Birds of America.”
This account of John Audubon’s life will help young readers see how John came to create his famous book when he was adult. Written in an easy to follow and engaging style, this is one of the titles in the “Young Patriots” Series.
