Aanloop

by Rien Poortvliet

From the painter and illustrator of Gnomes comes this book which takes the reader on a journey back to the Ice Age to observe wild animals - both real and imagined. While he is transported back through the millennia, Poortvliet documents the wild animals habits and rituals.

Genres: Art, Nature, Historical, Animals, Picture Books, Nonfiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1993

Reviews

[Rayn]

Tsja, what can I say, this is Rien Poortvliet. Grote nostalgie die deze man heeft voor 'vroeger', hij verafschuwt steden nu. Dit boek gaat vooral over (uitgestorven) wild en hoe men vroeger leefde. Wel interessant en natuurlijk gewoon erg goed getekend. Leest ook lekker vlot.

[Carrie]

This book isn’t what I expected, based on the title, but it hardly matters; anything Poortvliet does is magic. If anything it was more fascinating than expected. A man sits with his dog in a forest in the Netherlands and describes the wildlife he sees there, as well as what he can only see with his imagination—people and animals that lived there long ago. A lot of it deals with hunting techniques from the 1600s back to the ice age. The paintings are absolutely the best, and the ancient scenes of mammoths and wooly rhinos are as believable as those of creatures still living. It’s an amazing book.

[Jamie Jonas]

This is one of the most fabulous, stupendous books I will ever own. I've long since been acquainted with Poortvliet's Gnomes books, and found them charming, brilliant voyages into the lives of Scandinavian 'wee folk' I truly wish existed. 'Journey to the Ice Age,' on the other hand, is so full of tour-de-force artwork depicting wildlife both contemporary and bygone that its scope is almost mind-boggling. I've studied the work of several great wildlife painters, but my conclusion at this point is that this artist exceeds them all. In no other work have I found such an ingenious combination of the impressionistic with the breathtakingly realistic. I only wish ELEVEN stars were available here, because 'Journey' would merit them all!

[Joe]

This is a stunningly beautiful book illustrated and narrated by someone who truly knows and loves the outdoors.

I wish I could frame the pages for display on my wall.

It is the perfect book to read with a grandchild or two on your knee, being careful to skip the scary pages until the children are older. It immerses you in real natural life, not a saccharine sanitized life such as many children’s books do. It is a children’s book for adults and for children who plan on being adults someday.

[Allison Marks]

Visually stunning!

[Craig Wanderer]

Read this years ago and read it with my children today.

[Percy]

Gorgeous paintings, wish it had a bit more to actually read though, like with gnomes!

[Christian Hendriks]

I wish Goodreads had the cover for this, because it is beautiful.

As always, Poortvliet's realist style and his attention to detail and emotion make the paintings plausible in a way not many painters have done. As he begins with contemporary animals and moves back, he also retains a sense of familiarity, so that by the time we see mammoths on the page, it remains as believable as when we saw rabbits.

A beautifully-painted and compassionate book.

[Sarah]

Not the type of book I usually read. The illustrations were beautiful and the book itself was interesting. It was about the animals and hunting habits of the people who have lived in Northern Europe for thousands of years. Normally, this would bore me to death. But the way it was laid out and written was superb.

[Tim McCabe]

No better book illustrator than Poortvliet. This one is a masterpiece; a recreation of the natural history of prehistoric animals, along with the artist's playful imagination.