A Charm of Goldfinches and Other Wild Gatherings: Quirky Collective Nouns of the Animal Kingdom

by Matt Sewell

A charm of goldfinches, an ascension of larks, a bask of crocodiles, a cloud of bats, a wake of vultures--all of these colorful collective nouns and more are showcased in this enchanting illustrated book by beloved artist Matt Sewell.
Accompanying each illustration is a playful description of each group of animals' personality, quirks, and habits. Sewell's uniquely witty take on the subject and delicately vivid illustrations make for a lovely new addition to his series of collectible books including Owls and Penguins and Other Seabirds. Playing on the theme of collective nouns for animals and illustrated with Matt Sewell's inimitable watercolors, this book makes a great gift for nature and art lovers everywhere.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Art, Animals, Language, Natural History, Picture Books

144 pages, Hardcover

First published September 5, 2017

About the author

Artist and illustrator Matt Sewell has been described as the Banksy of the bird world. Matt works in a variety of media including T-shirts, posters, interiors, sculptures and walls. He has illustrated for the Guardian and Barbour, amongst many others; painted underpasses for the RSPB; and exhibited in London, Manchester, New York, Tokyo and Paris, as well as being an avid ornithologist and regular contributor to the Caught by The River website (he also designed their logo).

His bird books, Our Garden Birds, Our Woodland Birds, A Charm of Goldfinches and many more, have taken the world by storm. He has also illustrated numerous children’s books including The Big Bird Spot, Dinosaurs and Forgotten Beasts. His latest book for children is Atlas of Amazing Birds.

Matt lives in Shrewsbury with his partner and two children.

Reviews

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found out about this book thanks to a friend here and since I'm a linguist and love everything quirky about languages (palindromes, puns, etc), I also enjoy all the collective nouns of the animal kingdom. One of my personal favourites has always been "a murder of crows" though thanks to this book I now know that people have been very inventive with the names of other animal groupings as well. So of course I needed to have this book.

It is divided into the chapters "land", "air", and "water".

What I didn't expect but enjoyed very much was all the historical info about how the nouns came to be as well as some cultural context. Like in the example below:


The illustrations, too, of course. I got a taste of Matt Sewell's art in his other book I read yesterday and I really like his style. In this case it brought home the quirkiness of the labels we give animal groups and was the perfect combination.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Humans have always had a natural desire to collect and group things together. It works well for domesticated animals, where people are used to talking about a herd of cows, or a flock of sheep. But how do you collate wild animals and birds? Should they all be flocks and herds? Thankfully human imagination has gone to work on this and come up with a whole host of rich and interesting names for all species of animals.

Matt Sewell has collected together all the collective nouns for all manner of animals who inhabit land, sea and air. As well as the titled, A Charm of Goldfinches and the well-known Murder of Crows he introduces to us the less common quarrel of sparrows, a quiver of cobras, a harem of seals and deceit of lapwings. Alongside each collective noun is a delightful watercolour of the animals and a little explanation of the origins of the noun.

I really liked this enchanting little book with its colourful bold artwork and Sewell’s charming prose but if there was one minor flaw was it too brief.

[Miranda Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever looked at a group of animals and wondered what they are called?

Not the species - after all a bear is a bear - but what is the name for a group of them? Turns out the answer is sleuth. A sleuth of bears.

Matt Sewell - the brilliant author and artist behind a myriad of bird books - from songbirds to seabirds - has crafted this truly wonderful story about what animals are called in groups.

A leap of leopards, a parliament of owls, a flutter of butterflies, a dazzle of zebras and more.

Each animal group named is accompanied by a truly stunning painting and a quirky paragraph regarding the name and its origins.

I love Sewell's lighthearted approach to the animal kingdom and his unique water color style of illustrations. His nature and animal books are truly among my all-time favorites.

[Preeti · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize until I got this book from NetGalley that I'd read and reviewed another one of Matt Sewell's books, Owls: Our Most Enchanting Bird. This follows a similar format to that one, and to a bunch of other Sewell books. This one in particular takes a look at the fun and amusing names there are for groups of different kinds of animals, for example, a murder of crows or a parliament of owls, and it also has some descriptions and thoughts about the names and animals.

I felt pretty much the same about this book as that one: it's a whimsical book with cute illustrations. While it does have some scientific information about the animals it portrays, I wouldn't take most of it to the bank. It's not meant to be an informational book, really.

I do like the way Sewell illustrates the eyes of some of the animals. Eyes and facial expressions are one of the hardest things to illustrate (as well as human hands!), in my opinion, and I think he does a good job. For example, look at these images of cute, innocent (yeah right!) starlings versus the vultures that are definitely up to something.





Here are a few of my other favorites:







Overall, it's a cute book but not something I'd buy myself.

Note: I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely book, full of amazing watercolours of land/air/water animals, I recommend the paper version over the electronic version as you'll see the full affect of the paintings which are spread over two pages.

With each collection of animals mentioned you get some info on how the collective name was first created, you get info on the animals themselves, an idea of how many species and a nice big helping of Matt Sewell's humour. Here is a sample of him describing Buntings:

"There are many different kinds of buntings around the world and they are all as cute as a baby turtle's birthday party."

I was quite surprised how many of these I already knew, but there were still plenty of new ones to learn, so this is a great source of info for those who take part in pub quizzes. A wonderful book that I highly recommend.

[Elite Group · Rating 5 out of 5]

A gem of a book to help at quiz nights!

I have always enjoyed finding out what a group of a specific animal is called and thanks to Matt Sewell, I am now able to appear hugely knowledgeable when discussing bears by saying “Oh yes, in fact a group of bears is really a sleuth of bears” or “look at that caravan of camels” or my best while staring at a river in Africa “Ah, there is a crash of hippos”

Matt Sewell has divided the book into three parts; land, air and water. Who can resist looking into the skies and saying “There’s a convocation of eagles” or watching vultures feasting on a dead animal “We’re so lucky to see a wake of vultures”

And in the water section some equally brilliant descriptive nouns: “A shiver of sharks” (too right! It would send your body into shivers!) or “a smack of jellyfish” (and we’ve all experienced how sore that can be!)

This is a truly beautiful book that will appeal to young and old and if remembering all the descriptive nouns is a bit too taxing on the brain, then just paging through and studying his brilliant sketches will bring hours of fun.

Treebeard

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

[Heather ~*dread mushrooms*~ · Rating 3 out of 5]

This gets three stars instead of four only because I was extremely bored by the Air section, which was mostly birds, of course. Otherwise this was cute and interesting.

[Nancy Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Each animal gets a few paragraphs and a nice watercolor.

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read the recent book on Owls by the author, I was interested to see this one about collective nouns for groups of animals. Each page illustrates the group with spare, colourful, cheeky art.

You probably know many of them, but just as probably don't know the rest. Rats, crocodiles and elephants fill the pages as well as the more usual birds in their parliaments, exaltations, murders etc.
Good for young readers or adults.

I downloaded a copy from Net Galley. This is an unbiased review.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fun, informative and quick read as well as one that surprised me. The reason for the surprise was that although I knew it was about collective nouns I didn't know that the author would be putting more thought into teaching and sharing with his reader than in just giving out the word.

Keeping with his British humor the book is a hodgepodge of comedic thoughts, some dark bits best read before allowing a younger child to get a hold of it, personal observations, animal trivia and awareness of some conservation issues. Each animal has one to two paragraphs while the material included is different enough to keep the reading new throughout.

And finally there are the beautiful and detailed-illustrations that complete this book.I could probably be just as happy if thugs had been an art-type book.

I would highly recommend this book to animal-lovers and those who may be interested in collective nouns as this will be a treasured resource for years to come.

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw this book at a local bookstore ( my favorite!) The Book Cove in Pawling New York... I bought it for a birthday present for a dear friend, but before I could wrap it up I was so charmed and filled with such joy I had to buy another copy for myself and another to have on hand for the next special friend when the occasion presented itself!

It is just a sheer delight!

Do yourself (and a friend!) a favor and check it out! It is a collection of all types of creatures with beautiful watercolor paintings of each and their collective nouns. You will love every word andpicure and it will enhance your love of a=nature and make it so fun to share that love with childr3en, friends, strangers and anyone you meet wherever you go!

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a charming (pun intended) little book! I was wandering the aisles of Barnes and Noble, a gift card burning a hole in my pocket, when I spotted this book and my inner linguistic nerd got excited. Overwhelmed by book choices, I didn’t buy anything that day, but I couldn’t get this mini little coffee table book out of my head. So I went back and bought it! The author/illustrator provides pretty illustrations and quirky little blurbs with each collective noun, some informative, some silly, some waxing poetic, and some of him just geeking out (especially about birds). I read all the entries for reading challenge purposes but it’s a perfect little coffee table book to dip into occasionally.

[Stuart Champion · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful read for naturalists and linguists alike.

[Jordan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really fun description of animal groupings with a tasting of background and history for where the names came from and why :)

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

This definitely counts. It was lovely by the way.

[Amanda up North · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll keep singing praise for Matt Sewell.
His art is delightful. His words are, too.
He cares about animals and environment.
My kids and I have had fun quizzing each other on collective nouns of the animal kingdom from this book.

[Christee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t often read non-fiction but this book is a delight! Detailing the collective nouns of creatures on land, in the air and in the sea, along with water color illustrations, it’s endlessly fun to look at. So much fun that I actually read every word and long to pass it along to all my friends! I think you’ll be as entranced as I am!!

[Alia'a Siren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't think I've read a book as charming as this. Sewell's write ups of each collective noun were witty and filled with cute "did you know?" bits, its so memorable. My favourite is "A Harem of Seals".

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best book! Irreverently descriptive and delightful, with beautiful watercolor illustrations. Completely enjoyable, would make a great gift for an animal and language lover. But, as the author/illustrator says in his description of a Shiver of Sharks, "Don't be misled by my bad habit of making everything look cute..."

[Bonnye Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

GNab I received a free electronic copy of this collection from Netgalley, Matt Sewell, and Ebury Digital in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for sharing your hard work with me.

This is a delightful book for folks of any age. My husband and I were discussing the fact that at one time in our lives we knew many of these collective nouns but have over the years lost that connection. Many of these however were new to us both. I love the fact that only a collection of male peacocks are an ostentation. If the less majestic peahens are included it would become a muster of peafowl. More than one raven becomes an Unkindness. I love ravens and have many in my neck of the woods - Chihuahuan Ravens for the most part - but you rarely ever see only one. Mostly they travel in pairs, and mate for life. Probably one on it's own should be the Unkindness....

The artwork in this guide is also exceptional. This is truly a book to awaken interest in the young and nostalgia in us older folk.

Pub date Sept 5, 2017

[Nostalgia Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

First off, these are very lovely illustrations. All the animals are quite cute, especially the birbs—I’ll have to look into some of his other books on birbs because !!BIRBS!

The informative blurbs, however, were just not that informative. I did enjoy Sewell’s organic style and how he incorporated personal vignettes and stories about the animal in question, while also providing some basic information about the animal and their group. But it was just too hit and miss in terms of how informative it was in regards to “how did that group of animals get that name?” I did highlight some snippets of info, but I wasn’t blown away with how much I learned. It seemed like Sewell could have published this without the vignettes and just his illustrations.

There were some instances where multiple other group names were mentioned in the text, some of which were much more interesting than the header entry. For example, it’s a “colony of squirrels” but the author also mentioned names like “scurry” and “drey”—both much quirkier and more indicative of a unique species.

While there are some cultural references that they might not get, I would actually recommend this book for middle schoolers. The illustrations are catchy and the information is at a level that would be perfect for sparking a tween’s interest to know more. I probably would have enjoyed this much more myself if I’d read it as a middle schooler.

I definitely would love to check out some of Sewell’s other books, if only for the illustrations, which are adorably lovely.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a free copy to review!

(Cross posted on my blog.)

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

light & fun
nice illustrations: a nice balance of cute & stylized with accurate
text is interesting at times, but probably secondary to the artwork.
writing is sometimes childish in tone yet with adult vocabulary, so it's not clear who the intended audience is.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute and short. Very UK centric for obvious reasons. Would like to see him tackle different regions of the world. It is a collection of illustrations with descriptions of the collective noun for the animal on the page.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2019/comm...

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretty illustrations and I liked learning what groups of animals are called. I did expect to learn why animal groups got the names they have, but it's mostly the author trying to wax poetically about animals.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Matt Sewell provides a full page of watercolor illustrations of groups of animals and 1-2 paragraphs of information on the critters, where that particular group name came from, or just his general thoughts on these animals and their group names.

Collective nouns for groups of animals are not set for each animal like their scientific names. There are many possible options for each critter, and it is even possible for you to introduce a new collective noun if you can just get enough people using it that it becomes common. Sewell has decided to focus on some of the oldest collective nouns for many of these creatures referencing The Book of Saint Albans for these and exploring where the terms originated. Others, he just picks whichever collective noun is his favorite. Sewell's writings on the animals are all very laid back, kind of like talking to a neighbor about animals and just hearing whatever sciency tidbits they've picked up as well as their general chitchat about them. It's not super scholarly, but that isn't the point of the book anyway. The point of the book is the illustrations. Sewell's trademark style is something that you'd expect to come out of Korea or Japan. It is very cute, almost cartoonish, and soft and welcoming. So pick this one up to enjoy the beautiful illustrations and along the way you can peruse Sewell's thoughts too.

Notes on content: 2-3 mild swear words. No sexual content. Natural animal violence and some hunting by humans is discussed occasionally.

[Monique · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review written: August 26, 2017
Star Rating: ★★★☆☆
Heat Rating: N/A

An Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of this book was received free via Netgalley for an honest review.

This is a charming book, goldfinches or otherwise. And yes, it is quirky too. I originally chose it thinking it might be something I would want to get for my nieces: informative but fun and with cute artwork.

But this is not a book for children. It's really a book for adults dressed up in a cute children's package. Is it informative? Yes. But it's not really meant to be all important. It's meant to be fun and silly before anything else. The analogies, the allusions, the word choices are all extremely adult and some of the allusions were in fact slightly older than my own age group.

I think this book would have done better if it had settled on an audience and then gone for it. It has a sort of split personality and never really sheds that. While, I did like learning some of the terms, I found myself mostly struggling through this book because it felt so completely repetitive. I think this is best used as a coffee table book and for a conversation starter.

This review is ©August 2017 by Monique N. and has been posted to Netgalley.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Charm of Goldfinches and Other Wild Gatherings is filled with entertaining depictions of animals and lovely watercolors. I found myself chuckling at the morsels of humor the author incorporates in each rendering but also learned a few things I did not know. Anyone who loves nature or is an artist at heart will enjoy this collection of illustrations. It is truly one of the most charming little books I have had the pleasure of reading. It would make a wonderful gift to share with others and more than likely bring some extra smiles and joy to their life.

I was given a copy of the book from the publisher through the Blogging for Books program. No compensation has been received.

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was very cute and charming. The watercolor illustrations are engaging and sweet. There's more than just bird groups in the book as well-- seals, cobras and foxes are just some of the other animals. Each of the group names are given a short etymological backstory next to an illustration. Overall, this is a delightful coffee table book. Between a charm of goldfinches or a ostentation of peacocks, you'll be sure to learn a new collective noun. It became a guessing game between my family and we all adored the art style.

I received a copy of this book via Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review.

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very nicely illustrated and informative book. I felt Matt Sewell couldn't quite make up his mind if he were writing and illustrating this for children or adults, but I suppose that's not a bad thing.
The pictures were very good, though at times a little childish/cartoon-like, which made it feel like it was a child's illustrated book, but the descriptions of the collective nouns, whilst at times jokey, childlike and humorous, were copiously dotted with unusual words, for which I needed to refer to a dictionary!!
Whilst an enjoyable read by a very talented illustrator, I think I've had my fill of twee for now, so am off to read a grizzly horror!

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is just a charming (pardon the pun) little book about the collective nouns we use for groups of animals. One of my favorite memories from upper elementary school -- or maybe even middle school -- was learning all the various collective nouns used for groups of animals. I was just absolutely fascinated. This book is a beautiful little gem -- hardcover, with watercolor paintings of the animals in question, accompanied by informative (and often amusing) text about the history behind the collective noun for that particular animal.