Illuminature by Rachel Williams and Carnovsky

Illuminature by Rachel Williams and Carnovsky
Buy Illuminature by Rachel Williams and Carnovsky at Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Category: Children's Non-Fiction
Reviewer: Sam Tyler
Summary: Visit the habitats of the world in a kaleidoscope of colour in this beautifully illustrated book that requires you to view it through a lens to see the hidden images.
Buy? Maybe	Borrow? Yes
Pages: 64	Date: October 16
Publisher: Wide Eyed Editions
External links: Author's website
ISBN: 9781847808868
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Like Halley's Comet, I am allowed out once every 70 years, or so, for the night. On one such trip to the trendier side of London I was supping an ale in another Hipster Bar, but this one had a difference. The walls were covered in overlapping paintings of animals in different colours. So what? The trick was revealing said animals. The lights in the pub changed colour every few minutes revealing a different set of creatures that reacted to that colour. It was cool after a few shandies, but now you can enjoy this process sober in a new book all about using coloured lenses to find hidden animals.

Illuminature is a book all about exploring a hidden world to the full. The book come in a very satisfying hardback A3 size and is full of double page spreads that represent different habitats. On the same page are animals that come out at day and at night, as well as the fauna that they inhabit. However, to the naked eye it is all a blur. You must use the included lens set that picks up the individual elements; Red for the day, Green for the fauna and Purple for the night.

There is something satisfyingly Victorian about Illuminature as the technique feels like it was invented in an era where curio was King; Twitter had yet to be invented to waste those precious moments. In keeping with this both Williams and Carnovsky do a great job of supporting the style of the era. Williams' write up is educational and gives information on the ecosystem you are about to witness.

This is all very interesting, but could have been written in any encyclopaedia. It is the design duo Carnovsky whose illustrations are the true stars of the show. The images have a very authentic Victorian appeal to them that transports you back to what you imagine those times were like. This was when an Elephant could be seen in the Zoo, if you were lucky, but more likely stuffed in the Natural History Museum or in a book like this.

The very nature of Illuminature means that some of the drawings get a little mixed and hard to see. This is especially the case with the night animals as the purple lens is a lot less effective than the other two. This may be in keeping with trying to see the animals as if they were in their natural habitat, but it does strain the eyes. I also felt that the lens itself was a missed opportunity. The book is certainly large enough for more than one person to read, so two lenses would have been better. Also having separate colour sets would have worked better as you are always having to close one eye to be able to see the animals.

Illuminature is a book that will appeal to different ages. Is it for children? The text is simple to read and the illustrations are awesome, but is it a little too Victorian for them? Perhaps the best audience would be the family as a whole. This would make a great coffee table book for anyone to pick up and have a go with. With this sharing in mind, it is a shame that a few more lenses were not included.

There are not many other books like this out there, but you could try something that has the same Victorian feel Mythology: An Illustrated Journey Into Our Imagined Worlds by Christopher Dell.

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You can read more book reviews or buy Illuminature by Rachel Williams and Carnovsky at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Illuminature by Rachel Williams and Carnovsky at Amazon.com.

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