Nocturne: Creatures of the Night

by Traer Scott

Whether fierce, cuddly, startling, mysterious, or some indefinable combination of all of the above, nocturnal animals never fail to fascinate. In Creatures of the Night , celebrated animal photographer Traer Scott takes the viewer on a journey through nighttime in the animal kingdom, revealing some of nature's most elusive creatures. Bats, big cats, flying squirrels, tarantula, owls, kangaroo mice, giant moths, sloth, several species of snakes, and a Madagascar hissing cockroach are only a few of the animals illuminated in these lushly detailed portraits. Seventy-five full-color photographs of forty different species are accompanied by informed but accessible descriptions of each animal's habits and habitats, and an introduction provides personal insight into how Scott captures her astonishing images. Nocturne is a compelling view of the rarely seen darkness dwellers who populate the night.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Photography, Science, Nature, Art, Childrens

128 pages, Hardcover

First published September 2, 2014

About the author

Traer Scott is an award winning fine art and commercial photographer and author of five books. Her work has been featured in National Geographic, Life, Vogue, People, O and dozens of other national and international publications. She was the recipient of the Rhode Island State Council for the Arts 2010 Photography Fellowship Grant and the 2008 Helen Woodward Humane Award for animal welfare activism. Recent exhibitions of her work have been held at Blue Sky Gallery in Portland, the Shanghai Photographic Arts Festival, the Center for Photographic Art in Carmel and the Irene Carlson Gallery. Traer lives in Providence, Rhode Island with her husband, daughter and pit bull.

Reviews

[karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

okay, so since goodreads is getting a little terrifying lately, with all the reviewer stalking and assaults, i feel like i need to bring a little contrast to all the batshit horrible vibes out there. i'm not trying to downplay the seriousness of what is happening in any way, but my response has always been to deflect the crazy rather than fan the flames. you fanners, carry on, because it's important to know what's going on, but my way is always to provide the relief, so here are some adorable nocturnal animals from this fantastic book, which is one of the best examples of animal photography i have ever seen.

obviously, i was sold with this picture:



and greg was sold with this one:



but there's something for everyone here!











the best thing about nocturnal animals is how BIG their eyes are









and how grouchy they look when they are taken out of their comforting darkness





and even though i hate animals in clothes, i really think this guy would look cute with a little vest



right?

so let's just remember that as dark as things are right now, in that darkness there's still a lot of cute things to return to after the dust settles.

oh, and also - a wet beaver. because it's still me, after all.



it's gonna get better, i promise.
chins up.



come to my blog!

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m going to try to get this physical book at some point. Loved the pictures and details.

**Traer Scott Photography**







Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The bats are my favorite!

[Nello · Rating 3 out of 5]

The pictures are wonderful but the text is too short. Wish she'd covered: (1) Why were these animals chosen; and (2) What photographic techniques were used.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful photos, fascinating facts. The whole family enjoyed this book.

[Shelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful, large-format, high-resolution photography of fascinating (and usually very cute) animals grace the library ebook version of Nocturne: Creatures of the Night. I only wish that more of the animals had multiple photos of them included (most have just one; a very few have two), and that photographer/author Traer Scott had delegated the text to a qualified zoologist, who could have made the blurbs a bit beefier and more accurate. But in general, a pretty-to-look-at and very quick-to-read picture book that would be worth a library checkout, especially for kids fascinated with (especially nocturnal) animals.

[Karen Arendt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything about this book was amazing. Of course the photographs were impressive, with such close ups that readers will want to linger over each feather, claw, and scale. The introduction was thorough in explaining how the book originated as well as how the photographer was able to take the pictures without harming or inconveniencing the animals. Then, there is the summary for each animal that gives information on diet, hunting, habitat, endangerment, and social structure. A great read in general, but also useful for animal research units as an introduction.

[Helen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful book to learn about crepuscular and nocturnal animals! The author has wonderful photos and lots of information!

[Fabricio Hernandez]

Wordless Book

Genre: Informational Nonfiction (Book provides pictures of the animals in different backgrounds at night, that provides the reader with facts about the natural habitat of the creatures at night.)

Target Audience: 8-11-year-old (3rd-6th grade)

Connections:

Text to World: At the Henry Doorly Zoo they have bats that are placed in a dark setting, and in this book, the bats are pictured in a dark setting, which seems to be a cave.

Text to Self- As a child, I use to always believe that the animals that roamed around at night were big and scary and that was why my parents did not let me go out at night. However, through this book, I was able to see the different types of animals that go out during the night, and some do not look so scary as I use to believe.

Text to Text- First Animal Encyclopedia by Penelope Arlon is a text that I believe is relatable to Nocturne: Creatures of the night. They are relatable because one book just provides images of the different types of animals that we can see in the night, and the other book actually provides information about each of those animals. For example, it describes to us where the animals live, different facts such as what they eat, and the different features they have.

[Sarai · Rating 5 out of 5]

I plan to take this on a school visit next spring. The pictures are quite nice, with brief descriptions of each animal.

The binding on our copy is not great, though. It's only a year old and the glue is already coming undone.


Book Description:
Whether fierce, cuddly, startling, mysterious, or some indefinable combination of all of the above, nocturnal animals never fail to fascinate. In Nocturne: Creatures of the Night, celebrated animal photographer Traer Scott takes the viewer on a journey through nighttime in the animal kingdom, revealing some of nature's most elusive creatures. Bats, big cats, flying squirrels, tarantula, owls, kangaroo mice, giant moths, sloth, several species of snakes, and a Madagascar hissing cockroach are only a few of the animals illuminated in these lushly detailed portraits. Seventy-five full-color photographs of forty different species are accompanied by informed but accessible descriptions of each animal's habits and habitats, and an introduction provides personal insight into how Scott captures her astonishing images. Nocturne is a compelling view of the rarely seen darkness dwellers who populate the night.

[Thomas Cruz · Rating 5 out of 5]

The genre of this book is a nonfiction, informational, wordless book. The books shows pictures of animals in different backgrounds at nights that provides facts about the topic, which are the animals, and where they live and the environment they live in. The target audience would be probably be primary for 7 to 11 year olds. The text-to-world connection I found was a connection from the book to the zoo. From the book, I saw bats in dark settings in what looks like a cave, and at the zoo, I see bats that are in a dark setting as well. In a text-to-self connection, as a young child, I would always wonder about how different wild animals and be scared of different animals at night. In the book, I saw elusive creatures at night and was fascinated at how they did not look very scary. In the text-to-text connection, I found a connection from this book to the First Animal Encyclopedia by Penelope Arlon. This book that I read showed pictures of the animals, but the encyclopedia wrote a description with facts such as where they live, what they eat, and the different bodily features of each animal.

[Shay Rost · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has amazing photographs of nocturnal animals. There are no words, just images. This book takes us on a journey through the night with fascinating photographs of animals such as the fox, big cats, huge moths, sloths, snakes, bats, and more. This book could be for anyone of any age and for anyone who wants to see what types of animals love the dark of night!

There is a fun fiction book that we can pair well with "Nocturne: Creatures of the Night", called "Night Animals" by Gianna Marino. This book can be for a young age group from about preschool age to 2nd grade. After learning about various animals who live in the dark, we can read "Night Animals".
It begins in a dark wooded forest when a skunk stumbles upon a scared possum, who is afraid of a noise she hears, so she is hiding from the "night animals". Along comes other nocturnal animals - a bear, a wolf, and they all hide from the scary "night animals" too. Then a bat comes along and explains to them that they shouldn't be scared because THEY are night animals!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unbelievable photographs and really cool information on these nocturnal creatures. Now I have to go look up what diurnal and crepuscular mean! Like the fact that human impact on habitats is discussed as well as the information at the back on the various organizations. And, of course, loved the references to Brown and the Beardsley Zoo. My daughter actually was friends with a student who worked at the bat house,

[Siskiyou-Suzy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nocturne: Creatures of the Night is a seriously gorgeous book. I adore the focus on the animals themselves with no background. I would love a book like this about various groups of animals. The fennec fox is a perfect cover; I love that little Chihuahua-looking thing. I also love the fact that included are animals I've never heard of before (honestly, never heard of a serval) alongside very familiar animals, such as raccoons and the domestic cat.

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just HAD to read this book after looking at that cover!! So cute!!

I really liked this book! Traer Scott was able to get some wonderful photographs of these amazing animals, and I found the short info of each creature to be interesting and educational (and of course, sad to read how much we're destroying the lives of these beautiful beings :'( )

Great work Ms. Scott!! Thank you for sharing these great photos with us!!

[Lauren Kerstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

Traer Scott Photography's introduction to NOCTURNE: CREATURES OF THE NIGHT brought tears to my eyes.
"Every good book sends the reader on a journey... by the end you should feel as if you have climbed a snowy peak, heard a secret in the softest of whispers, or perhaps flown a little closer to the sun."
The sensitive, beautiful introduction and tribute to gorgeous creatures through text and stunning photographs made this book one of my favorites.

[Amy Derwae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing... This small book is a very quick read, yet it is filled with fascinating facts about each animal. And the photographs are stunning!

I checked this out from my local library, but I will have to purchase a copy for myself. This is a perfect "mini" coffee table book, something I know I'll want to flip through again & again and also share with others.

[Melle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stunningly gorgeous, highly-detailed photographs of a wide variety of nocturnal animals. (Warning for the ophiodophobes out there -- two snakes are featured in book-throwingly-close detail!) Lots of interesting facts about animals from across the world. A beautiful tribute to biodiversity and to an evolutionary trait that is shared by everything from the common agouti to the rococo toad.

[Brigid · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great introduction, which many folks may skip. Author provides natural history information about each animal. Out of 17 2-page spreads, 3 are of bats with teeth bared; about 1/5th. I like bats, always have, so seeing this many menacing-looking close ups was disappointing. Even though helpful facts are there, most people will not read past the photo.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent presentation of nocturnal animals. Each animal is featured on a two page spread. The dark background is excellent to represent the night. The photographs are large and the information text is white against the dark. Informative and very pleasant to look at. Great job!

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The pictures are amazing!

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fabulous photographs and interesting facts about some of the creatures who come out at night.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The photographs are lovely. I expected it to provide tantalizing snippets on nocturnal animals and it did just that. Bought it to add to my collection of books for future children.

[Melber · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some nice photographs though it would've been nice to see full photos.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good brief introductions to many nocturnal creatures, and some of the most adorable pictures I have ever seen!

[Velvet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our whole family enjoyed reading this and viewing the beautiful photos. I also had never heard of a few of the animals and learned some interesting facts. Definitely recommend!

[Kim Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic pictures and readable blurbs for each animal. Kids will love the pictures.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great pictures and great information.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cover many nocturnal (strictly and not strictly) animals with insightful yet brief introduction to their salient features, with clear and illustrative photos.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great photos and blurbs. Too many reptiles/snakes