Smithsonian Natural History

Smithsonian Natural History – The Ultimate Visual Guide to Everything on EarthPublished at DK
About the book
A landmark in reference publishing and overseen and authenticated by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History, Natural History presents an unrivaled visual survey of Earth's natural history. Giving a clear overview of the classification of our natural world-over 6,000 species-Natural History looks at every kingdom of life, from bacteria, minerals, and rocks to fossils to plants and animals. Featuring a remarkable array of specially commissioned photographs, Natural History looks at thousands of specimens and species displayed in visual galleries that take the reader on an incredible journey from the most fundamental building blocks of the world's landscapes, through the simplest of life forms, to plants, fungi, and animals.

Our Thoughts
Prepare for your breath to be taken away… literally!

This book is packed with stunning pictures of various species we can found on earth.   From the tiny bacteria to the biggest animal, you will be able to discover them in this huge book put together by the Smithsonian Institution.   Did you know that the Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum complex and a center for research?   I have heard that it is a wonderful place to visit and some day I intend to bring my family there.  In the meantime, we will delight in discover the various life forms we can see on this planet.

As a Christian, I am delighted to get this wonderful book in our hands because we can discover numerous plants, bugs, animals without having to spend thousands of dollars to travel.   Don’t take me wrong, I would love to have a huge field trip and discover the planet with my family if I had the money permitting us to do so.   But this book is fabulous as it presents a variety of plants, animals, bugs and much more.
  
While going through the book, we discovered that a spider is called the Ladybird Spider and only the males of his Eurasian spider have the ladybird pattern.    The spider is mostly black but the the top of the body is red with black spots.   Amazing!  We have discover bright and colourful insects, gigantic trees, marvellous flowers growing on cactuses, amazing butterflies, strange and beautiful fishes, as well as mushrooms, snakes, turtles, salamanders, birds small and big, and a ton of mammals.  We were breath taken by the creativity and originality that God has when he created all of them.   

See for yourself by looking at the sample pages below.





This huge book will also help you develop your muscles in  your arms (the book is quite heavy) as well as stretch your knowledge in your brain…  I originally asked to review this book because my 2nd son is interested in any kind of animals he can come across but already his three siblings are digging into this book and marvel at the pictures included in it.    I also brought the book at the pool while the kids had their lessons and one of the moms there was impressed by the presentation of the information.

Natural History has received the Booklist 2010 Editors’ Choice Award.

Natural History is available at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca.
Disclaimer: Thanks to DK Canada for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way.  All opinions expressed here are only my own.