Amazing Islands

"Kerry Hyndman’s illustrations are the perfect accompaniment; detailed and joyful, but not so busy that they’re a distraction from the text. Animals and natural formations are carefully labelled, and the central fold-out world map is delightful, locating all the islands mentioned in the book."

"Each page is packed with information from the islands people and wildlife to the resources found there."

“A beautifully illustrated book, chock full of valuable information about islands around the world … There is tons of trivia to read about and so many connections to be made to history, nature, daily life, and so much more. The information on each page is presented in easily digestible paragraphs scattered throughout the pages to cover a variety of different topics. It is a thoroughly enjoyable book that will keep readers turning the pages.”

"Amazing Islands is fantastic and I can’t wait to get it into the hands of the children in my school! The author has managed to pull off the feat of providing loads of information without the book ever feeling overwhelming ... You could dip into Amazing Islands off and on for months and find new snippets of information to get excited over, making it ideal in a class library."

“A compendium of oddly interesting facts about islands, large and small, and their human and animal inhabitants ... The layouts are varied and lively, with realistic details of animals and plants, and occasional foldouts add both more space for information and a bit of excitement. Curious kids may enjoy browsing through this cornucopia of island facts.”

“This is a great book for kids who are interested in landforms and the natural world. It’s a great introduction to world geography and the science of how islands are formed. Despite being illustrated, the text is small and the vocabulary is specific, making this a good choice for upper elementary and middle school readers.”

“The illustrations are eye-catching, and I loved the art style. The colors are bright, and each scene is beautifully designed.”

Amazing Islands “is fun for the child fascinated by facts as well as isolation. Islands can be prisons, mysteries, cities – such as Venice – and ecological niches. The clear text and bold images display a capacity for lateral thinking that bright kids of 6-10 will relish and return to.”

“This title is ideal for younger readers. It is a brilliant introduction to non-fiction books and also has ‘flickability’ – a very important quality in early information books … Favourite facts can easily be read aloud and discussed, and the accompanying illustrations allow the reader to visualise places they might never have seen.”

“This book is absolutely jam-packed with some of the most fascinating and diverse locations. After an introduction explaining what islands are and how they are made, readers are whisked around the world to South Georgia, the Galápagos, Christmas Island and Madagascar to name just a few. Kerry Hyndman’s illustrations are absolutely stunning and truly capture the wonder of the featured landscapes. These, combined with the cornucopia of facts and maps, make this book one to savour and treasure.”

“Amazing Islands is a fact-filled, colourful celebration of island diversity, including information about wildlife, history, treasures and culture and featuring volcanoes, rainforests, Komodo dragons, prison colonies and more - with over 100 of the world's most magical islands to explore.”

“Readers with a particular penchant for statistical information will enjoy the fold-out world map locating all the islands mentioned in the narrative and it also provides several ‘island top tens’ … Each spread is alluringly illustrated with realistic depictions of the relevant flora and fauna, and organised with sufficient variety to maintain the reader’s interest.”

“This intriguing, colourful, fact-filled book is the first in a new Our Amazing World series and is an entertaining celebration of island diversity, wildlife, history, treasures and cultures … Amazing Islands is a whirlwind tour of some of the smallest land masses in the world. From islands that have been taken over by animals, to disappearing islands, islands made of shells, artificial islands and even islands that were once prison colonies, this book takes you on a breath-taking tour … The book contains lots of new science, history and geopolitics. Seven hundred million people (a tenth of the world’s population) live on islands so they are important in our human history and as far as the environment is concerned, islands are susceptible to increasing threats due to environmental issues …The perfect book to put island life in focus.”

"As a reminder of the impermanence of everything we take as stable, Amazing Islands is aptly named. Beautifully illustrated, this isn’t a natural history so much as a look at islands of every kind – from the unique wildlife on Madagascar to the culture of island nations. Along the way, we explore the geological wonders and artificial islands."