Journey to the Ice Age: Mammoths and Other Animals of the Wild - Hardcover

Poortvliet, Rien

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0810936488 ISBN 13: 9780810936485

Publisher: Harry N Abrams Inc, 1994

Synopsis

In Journey to the Ice Age: Mammoths and Other Animals of the Wild, Rien Poortvliet, the famed Dutch illustrator of the highly acclaimed Gnomes and Secrets of the Gnomes, sits in an imaginary seat high up on a ladder and he takes us on a journey back hundreds and thousands of years, making vivid observations of animals, both real and imagined, along the way. Best known for his portrayals and stories of people, animals, and such fantastic creatures as gnomes, Poortvliet gives us a privileged look at animals from both the present and the past and captures their beauty in this newly illustrated volume.
Starting in present-day Holland, Poortvliet observes, and illustrates, the many animals who inhabit this earth, in great detail. He may catch a rabbit, lynx, or partridge sauntering by, or admire a doe with her young right beneath him. He takes notice of foxes, deer, and wolves, and portrays them realistically and convincingly.
Poortvliet continues on his journey to the sixteenth century, a time when humans coexisted with such predators as bears, lynx, and wolves, and other wild animals. His journey ends with the people and animals of the Ice Age, and he imagines the now-extinct mammoth and other creatures in their natural habitat - the giant deer, the wooly rhinoceros, the wild horse, the auroch, and the cave lion.
Exploring the boundaries of time travel and studying the wild animals at close range, Poortvliet documents their daily habits and rituals. His colorful account unfolds before us to reveal the many interesting facts about the mammals: How much bigger is an elk than a deer or a doe? How do you subdue a rhinoceros? How many pounds is a mammoth's daily food intake?
Journey to the Ice Age: Mammoths and Other Creatures of the Wild is filled with over 220 pages of full-color illustrations that will bring to life many of these now-extinct animals. Poortvliet's countless fans will be enchanted with this new and intriguing book.

About this title

Language Notes:

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Dutch

From Booklist:

Internationally acclaimed Dutch illustrator Poortvliet, known best for Gnomes and Secrets of the Gnomes, gives full rein to his love for animals and skill in depicting them in all their glory in this collection of hunting stories, past and present. All the action takes place in the Netherlands, beginning today then quickly moving back in time. Poortvliet begins his time-traveling by recounting family legends, such as the reign of terror of a child-eating wolf. There are less bloodthirsty stories about wild boars, deer, hawks, partridges, bears, otters, beavers, and foxes. As each adventure unfolds, Poortvliet's succinct commentary and subtly hued illustrations add up to a history of hunting. He draws guns, snares, bows and arrows, traps, spears, and the people who use them just as meticulously as he draws the animals they depend on for food or must hunt for self-protection. He also chronicles changes in the Dutch landscape as he peels back the centuries and imagines life during the last Ice Age, when his ancestors bravely stalked woolly mammoths and rhinoceroses. Donna Seaman

About this edition

• Publisher: Harry N Abrams Inc
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0810936488
• ISBN 13: 9780810936485
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 224