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Welcome to the Museum
Botanicum
Discover more than 160 exhibits in this virtual museum, open all hours.
The 2017 offering from Big Picture Press's Welcome to the Museum series, Botanicum, is a brilliantly curated guide to plant life. With artwork from Katie Scott of Animalium fame, Botanicum gives readers the experience of a fascinating exhibition from the pages of a beautiful book. From perennials to bulbs to tropical exotica, Botanicum is a wonderful feast of botanical knowledge complete with superb cross sections of how plants work.
The 2017 offering from Big Picture Press's Welcome to the Museum series, Botanicum, is a brilliantly curated guide to plant life. With artwork from Katie Scott of Animalium fame, Botanicum gives readers the experience of a fascinating exhibition from the pages of a beautiful book. From perennials to bulbs to tropical exotica, Botanicum is a wonderful feast of botanical knowledge complete with superb cross sections of how plants work.
112 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 8, 2016
76 people are currently reading
3038 people want to read
About the author
Katie Scott
58 books52 followersKatie Scott studied illustration at Brighton University and has since worked with the BBC, the New York Times,Universal Records, and Phaidon Press. She lives and works in London.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews
September 12, 2016
I received a copy of this title from Five Mile Press for review.
Ten Second Synopsis:
An introduction to the world of plant-life presented in a visually stunning format.
Given that I don’t know much about plants, I thought I would instead explain to you the things you really need to know about Botanicum; those things that will inspire you to make this eye-catching book part of your collection.
1. It’s impressively large.
You know how in some middle grade, usually fantasy stories there might be a scene where some kids stumble across a dusty old book in a forgotten or forbidden library? They pull it from the shelf and it’s heavy and the paper is thick and it’s filled with arcane knowledge that will provide the key to whatever mysterious problem they have to solve?
This is that book. (Except for the old, dusty part).
It’s the perfect size to lay out flat on a table or on the floor, so all of your friends can gather round and point enthusiastically at that bit of information that will move your quest forward. Seriously, the size and format of the book just screams “Enticing information contained within!”
2. It champions white space.
Unusually for a non-fiction tome, Botanicum makes brilliant use of white space to ensure that the reader doesn’t feel like they need a magnifying monocle to read the text. Each page spread is devoted to a small amount of pertinent information about the plant type in question, accompanied by a page of beautifully illustrated examples of the plant type. The fact that the book is so big means that the pages lie satisfyingly flat, allowing you to pore over the pages to your heart’s content. The book covers a wide range of plants, from mosses, fungi and ferns to the giant sequoia, succulents, carnivorous plants, vines and fruit trees. Truly, if you want to know some basic background about things that grow, or how to tell your hornwort from your hellebore, Botanicum would be a great place to start.
3. It’s eye-poppingly gorgeous to look at.
It’s pretty obvious, from the endpapers to the chapter headings, that the makers of this book know a thing or two about visual design. Everything about this book is visually appealing – the fonts, the colours, the layout – hell, even a cross-section of a breadfruit made Mad Martha want to pull out her crochet hooks and start recreating it in yarn. The book has the kind of illustrations that you want to tear out (carefully), frame and put on your wall.
Let’s be honest: even if you know nothing about plants and have no interest in learning about plants, if you pop this one on your coffee table, guests you wish to impress are going to be fooled into thinking you’re a botanical genius. Or at least a botanical enthusiast.
I get that this is probably a book with a specific, and possibly quite narrow, audience, but do yourself a favour and try and get your hands on a copy of Botanicum, if only to appreciate the beauty of the design.
Ten Second Synopsis:
An introduction to the world of plant-life presented in a visually stunning format.
Given that I don’t know much about plants, I thought I would instead explain to you the things you really need to know about Botanicum; those things that will inspire you to make this eye-catching book part of your collection.
1. It’s impressively large.
You know how in some middle grade, usually fantasy stories there might be a scene where some kids stumble across a dusty old book in a forgotten or forbidden library? They pull it from the shelf and it’s heavy and the paper is thick and it’s filled with arcane knowledge that will provide the key to whatever mysterious problem they have to solve?
This is that book. (Except for the old, dusty part).
It’s the perfect size to lay out flat on a table or on the floor, so all of your friends can gather round and point enthusiastically at that bit of information that will move your quest forward. Seriously, the size and format of the book just screams “Enticing information contained within!”
2. It champions white space.
Unusually for a non-fiction tome, Botanicum makes brilliant use of white space to ensure that the reader doesn’t feel like they need a magnifying monocle to read the text. Each page spread is devoted to a small amount of pertinent information about the plant type in question, accompanied by a page of beautifully illustrated examples of the plant type. The fact that the book is so big means that the pages lie satisfyingly flat, allowing you to pore over the pages to your heart’s content. The book covers a wide range of plants, from mosses, fungi and ferns to the giant sequoia, succulents, carnivorous plants, vines and fruit trees. Truly, if you want to know some basic background about things that grow, or how to tell your hornwort from your hellebore, Botanicum would be a great place to start.
3. It’s eye-poppingly gorgeous to look at.
It’s pretty obvious, from the endpapers to the chapter headings, that the makers of this book know a thing or two about visual design. Everything about this book is visually appealing – the fonts, the colours, the layout – hell, even a cross-section of a breadfruit made Mad Martha want to pull out her crochet hooks and start recreating it in yarn. The book has the kind of illustrations that you want to tear out (carefully), frame and put on your wall.
Let’s be honest: even if you know nothing about plants and have no interest in learning about plants, if you pop this one on your coffee table, guests you wish to impress are going to be fooled into thinking you’re a botanical genius. Or at least a botanical enthusiast.
I get that this is probably a book with a specific, and possibly quite narrow, audience, but do yourself a favour and try and get your hands on a copy of Botanicum, if only to appreciate the beauty of the design.
January 3, 2021
Ārkārtīgi skaista grāmata un uzzināju daudz jauna. Grāmatai ir tikai viens trūkums - stipri par īsu.
January 3, 2024
This is another gorgeous entry in the Welcome to the Museum series - an oversized, lavishly illustrated in full color introduction to all things Kingdom Plantae. I gasped out loud when I saw the exquisite two page spread of the taxonomic relationships of major plant clades (and then checked it out and found it accurate if simplified by necessity).
As I've come to count on with this series, Botanicum is organized in a fairly sensible way, with the first section on plant ancestors, early plants, and evolution and development, and then sections on trees, palms and cycades, forbs, grasses. There's also a section on orchids and bromeliads that strikes me as slightly random (they're cool and all, but...) and one on special adaptations (succulents, aquatics, parasitic plants, canivorous plants).
The information seems a little more toned down than it was in Fungarium, and there was also less that was new to me because I work in plants. (Whilst on the subject: I thought it had been definitively proven through molecular evidence that horsetails were no longer fern allies but rather true - if odd-looking - ferns?) There's fun stuff in here about different ecosystems - ancient carboniferous forests, alpine plants, mangroves. European plants are represented more than North American, but giant sequoias, orchids, and others are also featured.
Katie Scott's illustrations are stunning throughout. The plate on ferns, which combines accuracy with a lovely, slightly stylized symmetry, is so gorgeous that I would hang it on a wall, along with the plant tree of life and the wildflower page.
On to Oceanarium!
As I've come to count on with this series, Botanicum is organized in a fairly sensible way, with the first section on plant ancestors, early plants, and evolution and development, and then sections on trees, palms and cycades, forbs, grasses. There's also a section on orchids and bromeliads that strikes me as slightly random (they're cool and all, but...) and one on special adaptations (succulents, aquatics, parasitic plants, canivorous plants).
The information seems a little more toned down than it was in Fungarium, and there was also less that was new to me because I work in plants. (Whilst on the subject: I thought it had been definitively proven through molecular evidence that horsetails were no longer fern allies but rather true - if odd-looking - ferns?) There's fun stuff in here about different ecosystems - ancient carboniferous forests, alpine plants, mangroves. European plants are represented more than North American, but giant sequoias, orchids, and others are also featured.
Katie Scott's illustrations are stunning throughout. The plate on ferns, which combines accuracy with a lovely, slightly stylized symmetry, is so gorgeous that I would hang it on a wall, along with the plant tree of life and the wildflower page.
On to Oceanarium!
April 11, 2023
I would buy this for a child's private collection. Worth it for the art alone. A scientific tour and introduction to the world of plants organized by family. Katie Scott's illustrations are the heart and turn this into a magnificent art book, as well.
May 28, 2018
Якщо мене зараз спитати, що за книжка є найкрасивішою на світі, я довго не міркуватиму. “Ботанікум“! “Ботанікум” від Кейти Скотт і Кесі Вілліс – фантастично чудова книжка, гортаючи яку мені хотілося плакати
З двох причин. По-перше, це неймовірно красиво. Ок, припустимо, я – фанатка ботанічної ілюстрації, тобто є людиною упередженою. Але… це ж правда захмарно прекрасно! По-друге, ця книжка викликає бентежно заздрісний розпач. Чому, чому в моєму середньошкільному дитинстві не було такої прекрасної книжки, а була “Біологія для шостого класу” Морозюк? Причому в моєму шостому класі був ще якийсь спрощений радянський підручник, а отой біленький монстр з маком на обкладинці наздогнав уже у восьмому, коли проганяли програму для “районки” з біології. Believe me, прочитати перше видання підручника Морозюк (з усіма респектами до “першого вітчизняного шкільного підручника з ботаніки”) з його переускладеною лексикою та манерою викладу, ніби то для дуже замотивованих студентів, а не для школярів, за два дні – це нефігова психологічна травма. Ні, в “Ботанікумі” теж розповідають про вайї з архегоніями, але роблять це повільно, охайно та старанно повторюючи “людськими словами”. Професорка Кесі Вілліс – завідувачка науково-дослідницького управління в К’ю – свою частину справи зробила круто. Статті тут поділяються на дві частини: перша – дуже загальний вступ до теми, друга – уточнення специфіки, що йдуть “додатком” до ілюстрації. І от складні технічні моменти та більшість специфічних термінів ідуть якраз в тих “додатках”, а їх можна читати, а можна і нє. Можна й взагалі не читати, а картинки роздивлятися, вони ще крутіші. Ото в блозі якраз показую.
Ех, коли йдеться про книжки, кохання з першого погляду має отакий вигляд.
З двох причин. По-перше, це неймовірно красиво. Ок, припустимо, я – фанатка ботанічної ілюстрації, тобто є людиною упередженою. Але… це ж правда захмарно прекрасно! По-друге, ця книжка викликає бентежно заздрісний розпач. Чому, чому в моєму середньошкільному дитинстві не було такої прекрасної книжки, а була “Біологія для шостого класу” Морозюк? Причому в моєму шостому класі був ще якийсь спрощений радянський підручник, а отой біленький монстр з маком на обкладинці наздогнав уже у восьмому, коли проганяли програму для “районки” з біології. Believe me, прочитати перше видання підручника Морозюк (з усіма респектами до “першого вітчизняного шкільного підручника з ботаніки”) з його переускладеною лексикою та манерою викладу, ніби то для дуже замотивованих студентів, а не для школярів, за два дні – це нефігова психологічна травма. Ні, в “Ботанікумі” теж розповідають про вайї з архегоніями, але роблять це повільно, охайно та старанно повторюючи “людськими словами”. Професорка Кесі Вілліс – завідувачка науково-дослідницького управління в К’ю – свою частину справи зробила круто. Статті тут поділяються на дві частини: перша – дуже загальний вступ до теми, друга – уточнення специфіки, що йдуть “додатком” до ілюстрації. І от складні технічні моменти та більшість специфічних термінів ідуть якраз в тих “додатках”, а їх можна читати, а можна і нє. Можна й взагалі не читати, а картинки роздивлятися, вони ще крутіші. Ото в блозі якраз показую.
Ех, коли йдеться про книжки, кохання з першого погляду має отакий вигляд.
March 28, 2021
Šī, tāpat kā pārējās sērijas lielās enciklopēdijas, ir ārkārtīgi krāšņa un īsta estētiska bauda. Saturā gribētos vairāk par Latvijas dabu vai kaut kādas savilktas saiknes ar Latviju, tad to varētu plašāk izmantot jau ar mazāku bērnu, bet laikam jau nevar gribēt visu. Enciklopēdija mūsu mājās ir jau sen un laiku pa laikam to izņemu, lai papētītu kopā ar bērnu kontekstā ar dabā novēroto, bet vairāk jau vienkārši, lai pamielotu acis ar kaut ko skaistu.
Plašāk par grāmatu blogā: http://lalksne.blogspot.com/2021/03/k...
Plašāk par grāmatu blogā: http://lalksne.blogspot.com/2021/03/k...
March 25, 2018
Muazzam bir bilgi müzesi. Üstelik bu müze her zaman ziyaret edilebilir durumda. Hem bitkilerin tarihini, hem türlerini hem de ne kadar önemli olduklarını öğreniyorsunuz. Sıkılmadan herkesin okuyabileceği mükemmel bir çalışma. Özellikle çocuklarınıza bu tip çalışmaları almalısınız.
May 26, 2018
It was amazing. I can count as a beginner for botanic. However the book gives valuable and simple information about the Botanica. I strongly recommend for everyone who desires to learn about nature...
June 5, 2017
Wow! Beautiful book. The artwork is amazing and there is so much to learn.
Read
July 13, 2021An interesting read with beautiful illustrations.
August 2, 2018
Beautiful illustrations, great inspiration for drawing. (Note to self: posters available to purchase on Amazon)
April 23, 2018
Tohle je dokonalost ♥.♥
5/5*
Fotorecenze: https://marky-books.blogspot.cz/2018/...
5/5*
Fotorecenze: https://marky-books.blogspot.cz/2018/...
October 29, 2020
Prostě nádhera!
Zajímavé informace doplňují krásné ilustrace.
Nemám co vytknout.
Zajímavé informace doplňují krásné ilustrace.
Nemám co vytknout.
May 7, 2018
excellent addition to a homeschool library or budding artist's collection. the illustrations are detailed and easy to study; the tree of life is my favorite to get lost in. also, the large format is perfect to illustrate the plant world.
April 8, 2019
I love this book and don't want to return it to the library. I stumbled on it on the junior books section and was attracted by the beautiful color drawings. Each page could be framed. And because it is written for younger readers, the science of plants is explained simply and powerfully.
January 3, 2021
Хорошо но мало)
Дуже гарні ілюстрації, і мені подобається більш-менш систематичний підхід до викладу - трохи про еволюцію, трошки про будову, трохи про середовище існування, але хотілося би більше інформації, якби книжка була утричі більшою, я була б щаслива)
Дуже гарні ілюстрації, і мені подобається більш-менш систематичний підхід до викладу - трохи про еволюцію, трошки про будову, трохи про середовище існування, але хотілося би більше інформації, якби книжка була утричі більшою, я була б щаслива)
January 17, 2021
- pretty but not life changing
- i wish it was a bit longer
- has no flow? great sectioning tho
- i wish it was a bit longer
- has no flow? great sectioning tho
September 8, 2022
An absolutely gorgeous nonfiction book!
We used this for our 2nd-grade B&R Science unit on plant anatomy.
We used this for our 2nd-grade B&R Science unit on plant anatomy.
January 6, 2023
A nice album for kids with interesting facts and basic information from the world of plants. What I enjoyed the most were excellent illustrations by Katie Scott printed on creamy paper.
December 31, 2020
Vizuāli viena no manām skaistākajām grāmatām. Teksts ļoti dažāds vietām interesants un izsmeļošs, vietām nejaušu faktu apkopojums. Kā arī par kādu augu daudz botāniskas un interesantas informācijas un tad par nākamo - "augs ir zaļš" 😉 Bet kopumā ļoti forši. Un es tiešām uzzināju daudz ko jaunu.
January 1, 2023
Me ha encantado, una gran guía para recordar y aprender las características de las plantas que nos rodean.
August 7, 2019
Geweldig.
June 7, 2017
This is a gorgeous book! It is a book jam-packed with such a plethora of information about plants from the tiniest to the largest, from above ground to those tucked away underneath rocks or soil. It is a treasure trove of botanical information for the young and young at heart.
The book is touted for those ages 8 to 12 but surely they can't mean that! This book is a treasure and plant lovers (and soon-to-be plant lovers) of ALL ages will find themselves immersed for hours observing the detail of these beautiful illustrations by Katie Scott and reading the explanations by Kathy Willis that is all about each particular plant.
Couched in the guise of a "night at the museum" or a "let's visit the museum" you are introduced to the plants as though you were on a tour of a lovely plant museum. The pages are laid out with just the right amount of information (don't forget, they said this is for those "tweens" you know, but hint-hint very busy adults will find that the amount of information is just right for them as well). The lay out is not so crowded that the reader is overwhelmed and is just right so that the fine details can be readily absorbed.
What Audubon did with his fabulous illustrations of the birds of the world, this book does for plants. This is a marvelous coffee table book and one that you will be proud to display. Great for home and all libraries - schools and public.
Check my blog for a GIVEAWAY - Ends June 27 - Open to USA & CANADA http://chatwithvera.blogspot.com/2017...
DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from Candlewick Press on behalf of Big Picture Press and the author and illustrator to facilitate this review. Opinions are my own and freely given.
The book is touted for those ages 8 to 12 but surely they can't mean that! This book is a treasure and plant lovers (and soon-to-be plant lovers) of ALL ages will find themselves immersed for hours observing the detail of these beautiful illustrations by Katie Scott and reading the explanations by Kathy Willis that is all about each particular plant.
Couched in the guise of a "night at the museum" or a "let's visit the museum" you are introduced to the plants as though you were on a tour of a lovely plant museum. The pages are laid out with just the right amount of information (don't forget, they said this is for those "tweens" you know, but hint-hint very busy adults will find that the amount of information is just right for them as well). The lay out is not so crowded that the reader is overwhelmed and is just right so that the fine details can be readily absorbed.
What Audubon did with his fabulous illustrations of the birds of the world, this book does for plants. This is a marvelous coffee table book and one that you will be proud to display. Great for home and all libraries - schools and public.
Check my blog for a GIVEAWAY - Ends June 27 - Open to USA & CANADA http://chatwithvera.blogspot.com/2017...
DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from Candlewick Press on behalf of Big Picture Press and the author and illustrator to facilitate this review. Opinions are my own and freely given.
May 30, 2022
I expected this book to be all about plants. Facts about plants. How to tell certain plants from others. Preferred environments. Amazing illustrations, and so on. The amazing illustrations are present (which easily get at least 4 stars) but instead of sticking to facts, the author takes us through her idea of how plants evolved and when.
Even if you accept the theory of evolution (see Evolution: Theory in Crisis by Michael Denton for a great intro into some of the issues with the theory) the amount of guesswork presented as fact is concerning. Even more so when this could have been a very compelling book that served as a lovely springboard into a love of botany.
This oversized book usually follows a format - each 2 page spread has lovely illustrations on the right page and text on the left. The text page is a third to half about whatever the highlighted plant is with the remaining space provides a key to the illustrated plate opposite with a few lines about each species shown. Sometimes there's white space instead of including additional information.
Unfortunately, even the illustrations have a problem - there is no sense of scale. As an adult I can use my imagination, but converting numbers (especially feet) into accurate mental scale is not one of my gifts, especially once you get around 12' and higher. Kids will struggle with this even more.
Overall I'm very disappointed in the content/text of this book. The illustrations are almost exactly what I was hoping for - they're definitely frameworthy.
Even if you accept the theory of evolution (see Evolution: Theory in Crisis by Michael Denton for a great intro into some of the issues with the theory) the amount of guesswork presented as fact is concerning. Even more so when this could have been a very compelling book that served as a lovely springboard into a love of botany.
This oversized book usually follows a format - each 2 page spread has lovely illustrations on the right page and text on the left. The text page is a third to half about whatever the highlighted plant is with the remaining space provides a key to the illustrated plate opposite with a few lines about each species shown. Sometimes there's white space instead of including additional information.
Unfortunately, even the illustrations have a problem - there is no sense of scale. As an adult I can use my imagination, but converting numbers (especially feet) into accurate mental scale is not one of my gifts, especially once you get around 12' and higher. Kids will struggle with this even more.
Overall I'm very disappointed in the content/text of this book. The illustrations are almost exactly what I was hoping for - they're definitely frameworthy.
xx-dnf-skim-reference
January 3, 2020This is indeed big and beautiful and a wonderful sampling of the world of plants. Perhaps it will inspire youngsters to become botanists or to study environments & habitats. I, personally, am too overwhelmed to make the time to care for it (too big for my book bags) and to read it thoroughly. (Note that I don't rate books that I don't actually read, but I probably would give it four stars).
June 29, 2021
Amazing illustrations and quite a lot of interesting facts. A beautiful book.
February 29, 2020
Jako dziecko uwielbiałam wszystko, co dotyczy przyrody. Czytałam tony książek o roślinach i zwierzętach, z zapartym tchem oglądałam "Zwierzęta świata", a w "Poradniku weterynaryjnym" mojego dziadka miałam pozaznaczane ulubione fragmenty (wąglik, wścieklizna i te sprawy).
Trzy lata na biol-chem-fizie w liceum i rozszerzona matura z biologii sprawiły jednak, że przestałam sięgać po książki o tej tematyce. Zbyt dogłębnie poznałam temat, dopadło mnie zmęczenie materiału. Lata jednak lecą i ostatnio skusiłam się na "Botanicum. Muzeum roślin".
Książka jest pięknie wydana, wielka, z wieloma wspaniałymi ilustracjami. Tekstu i wiedzy jest w niej niestety stosunkowo mało, dlatego tylko 7 gwiazdek. Za to porusza ona wiele zagadnień i podaje trochę ciekawostek. Można z nią spędzić przyjemne chwile, o ile lubi się rośliny.
Chętnie sięgnę też po "Animalium. Muzeum Zwierząt", które z resztą już sobie zamówiłam, w związku ze zbliżającą się datą mych urodzin.
7/10
Trzy lata na biol-chem-fizie w liceum i rozszerzona matura z biologii sprawiły jednak, że przestałam sięgać po książki o tej tematyce. Zbyt dogłębnie poznałam temat, dopadło mnie zmęczenie materiału. Lata jednak lecą i ostatnio skusiłam się na "Botanicum. Muzeum roślin".
Książka jest pięknie wydana, wielka, z wieloma wspaniałymi ilustracjami. Tekstu i wiedzy jest w niej niestety stosunkowo mało, dlatego tylko 7 gwiazdek. Za to porusza ona wiele zagadnień i podaje trochę ciekawostek. Można z nią spędzić przyjemne chwile, o ile lubi się rośliny.
Chętnie sięgnę też po "Animalium. Muzeum Zwierząt", które z resztą już sobie zamówiłam, w związku ze zbliżającą się datą mych urodzin.
7/10
December 27, 2019
Very well-organized, beautiful, and informative!
February 27, 2021
Brilliant. I learned so much along with my son. The illustrations are so beautiful!
May 29, 2021
Stunning. A journey through history and inspiration.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 142 reviews