Lost Worlds

by John Howe

From the world of Aratta and Mohenjo-Daro to Atlantis and Camelot, this visually stunning book is a window with a view that takes readers on an historical, archaeological, and mythological journey through lost worlds, those abandoned in time, buried and forgotten, and the ones that live in the imagination. Attempting to put the most plausible pieces of history together, John Howe, concept artist for The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, begins the journey that will move readers to explore these lost worlds even further.

*intended for Grade Level 4 and up!

Genres: Fantasy, Art, Mythology, Childrens

96 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

John Howe is a Canadian book illustrator, living in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. One year after graduating from high school, he studied in a college in Strasbourg, France, then at the École des arts décoratifs in the same town.

He is best known for his work based on J. R. R. Tolkien's worlds. Howe and Tolkien artist Alan Lee served as chief conceptual designers for Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, and Howe also did the illustration for the Lord of the Rings board game created by Reiner Knizia. Howe also re-illustrated the maps of The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion in 1996–2003. His work is not limited to this, and includes images of myths such as the Anglo Saxon legend of Beowulf (he also illustrated Knizia's board game Beowulf: The Legend). Howe illustrated many other books, amongst which many belong to the fantasy genre (Robin Hobb's books for instance.) He also contributed to the film adaptation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis. In 2005 a limited edition of George R. R. Martin's novel A Clash of Kings was released by Meisha Merlin, complete with numerous illustrations by Howe.

Howe has illustrated cards for the Magic: The Gathering collectible card game.

For The Hobbit films, original director Guillermo del Toro and replacement director Peter Jackson both consulted with Howe and fellow conceptual artist Alan Lee to ensure continuity of design.

Howe is a member of the living history group the Company of Saynt George, and has considerable expertise in ancient and medieval armour and armaments.

Librarian note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

John^^Howe

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a hidden gem of a title - the artist (which I am sure you will already know since it is being used as one of the key advertising strap lines) is John Howe who famously illustrated the lord of the rings and who (as stated in his introduction) created the template for Sir Ian McKellans interpretation of Gandalf.
The premise is that each of 24 locations (both fictional and historic) has a brief description and a few facts all around sumptuous illustrations from Howe over his interpretation of what it would look like.
To be honest though its the art that steals the show with this book - each invoke a real feel for the location yet (as you would expect) capture the fantastic air of it as you would have expected from the classic images of middle earth - and yes I am sorry to draw the comparisons. Even without the fact of Howe's connection to that (which trust me you cannot get away from) the style and format all have a life of their own. I guess another way of saying it is that the picture tells more than the words around it.

[Reading Through the Lists · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is exactly the sort of book that I would have loved as an elementary student or middle schooler. Howe’s paintings are, as always, beautiful, and the descriptions of the “lost worlds” are brief and to the point. Nothing particularly deep or detailed, but then again, it’s meant to be an introduction. Lost Worlds reminds me a bit of those Dorling-Kindersley Eyewitness Books, but with less text and more pictures. A good starting point for kids who want to learn more about history and archaeology--perhaps a nice addition for 4th-7th grade classroom?

3 stars.

[Catarina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aproveitei uma promoção fantástica na minha livraria local para trazer este tesouro para casa. As ilustrações de John Howes são fantásticas e toda a estrutura do livro é bem organizada e interessante. Temos pequenas histórias, normalmente as mais conhecidas, na página que apresenta a civilização e depois temos duas páginas com factos sobre as mesmas. escavações arqueológicas, achados e mais mitos.
Esta obra não pretende ser extensa, até porque há muito do que falar, mas cumpre o seu dever sendo um livro interessante que nos prende a atenção.

[Kate Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been on a kick of reading children's nonfiction about ancient history, and this fit in nicely. Great overview of lost worlds both real and imaginary. I love the way the author glides around around that distinction, noting that even worlds which we can't prove existed (Camelot, Atlantis) have a reality of their own in the world of human consciousness. Very cool concept for an older reader. The illustrations are lovely, too.

[Phil Cotnoir · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many great deeds and accomplishments of past civilizations are shrouded in the mists of time. This is fertile soil for a powerful imagination, and John Howe delivers a beautiful artistic scene for each 'lost world.' Along with each illustration is an excellent historical summary, with fun-facts thrown in, based on what is known in each case. While not every chapter was equally evocative for me, on the whole it was a very enjoyable read.

[Kaethe]

The KitKatPandaBatWolf picked this one out, and we started it last night. It's a bit like the -ology books she loves. Beautiful artwork by the somebody-or-other from the Lord of the Rings movies. [There's no way Camelot looked like Neuschwanstein, but isn't it pretty?:] We selected bits at random, and since each place is only two or three pages, it's good for that.

[Fin · Rating 3 out of 5]

God I copied every single page of this as a kid - the art's not quite as good as I remember😭 and lol at including hollow earth but this book contributed so much to my imagination idk what my brain would look like without it

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations were so beautiful and it was so interesting to read

[Kaiti Laughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful picture resource for those of us who love time-forgotten or mysterious tales.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am absolutely in love with the drawings and short descriptions of lost worlds like Camelot, Adgard and Atlantis. I could stare at and read through this book for ages.

[Cheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and stories that make you want to know more or send your imagination into overdrive.

[Francisco · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review: https://depoisserotonina.blogs.sapo.p...

Apesar de ser um livro para um público mais infantil, Mundos Perdido é um autêntico atlas sobre mundos imaginários como Camelot e Atlântida, mas também de grandes cidades que desapareceram à inúmeros séculos, como a Babilónia ou Pompeia.

John Howe conta com magnificas ilustrações neste livro, sendo que este autor é conhecido por ser o ilustrador da obra Lord of the Rings, de Tolkien.

Um livre rápido de ler, mas com muita magia entre as páginas.

Nota final: 7/10

[Melany Kaasik · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Lost Worlds" is a great book for those who love learning about something new and enjoy looking at the beautiful illustrations.

It mixes both real world and imagination. Let's your mind really travel somewhere else.

[thereadingrainbowpal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ein wirklich wundeeschön illustriertes Buch über Mythen aus aller Welt, die zwar kurz, aber doch anschaulich und faszinierend erzählt wurden. Hätte ich als Kind sehr geliebt!

[Parka · Rating 5 out of 5]

(More pictures at parkablogs.com)

John is one of the two lead artists who worked on The Lord of the Rings film. In his latest book Lost Worlds he explores places, mythical or not, that have fascinated people. Some of the places include Eden, Babylon, Troy, Pompeii, Asgard and more — 24 in total.

The hardcover has a circular cutout holding a magnifying plastic — glass would probably break if not handled properly — peeping into a burning Atlantis. Pretty cool idea.

This is a children book — says 3+ on the back cover - or a book you would read to children. It's sort of like a National Geographic magazine covering archaeological stories, except there are more stories on mythology. The writeup isn't that technical and stories are not really long either. The art is not some major new creation but a re-interpretation of the places — think National Geography style art.

This book is recommended to parents with kids, obviously. I didn't realise this is a children book when I bought it. It's not a bad purchase but I'm not the target reader. It's still quite interesting to read.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not an in-depth study of worlds. It is not so much a scholarly work, even though I believe research was put into it. What this book is, though, is a small glimpse into worlds and cultures that no longer exist, if they ever did to begin with. Howe travels through cultures of every part of the world and gives a glimpse into worlds long since past. How's artwork adorns every page, his view of the world at hand and in my personal opinion are beautiful to look at.

I have always loved learning about different cultures and worlds. So what I loved most about this book is not how much information he gave me, but how much curiosity. Howe talks of worlds and cultures I had never heard of, and now my interest is peaked to learn more. I think that is great. Definitely recommended for lovers of culture and art, and hopefully others curiosities will grow like mine.

[Kristen Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is spectacular. The illustrations are out of this world and the background behind each of the lost worlds is eye-opening. The entries alternate from a story-like tale to a more non-fiction type writing that gives you a great deal of history and information about these worlds that may or may not have existed. Definitely a book I will reread again and keep in my collection. Visually stunning. If you love to learn about a combination of history and fantasy, you will enjoy this book immensely.

[Samanta · Rating 5 out of 5]

A short and very informative book about legends of places in our world that existed both in real world and in out imagination. It is filled with beautiful illustrations made by the author or the book, John Howe, the same one who made the illustrations for Lord of the Rings movies. Featured in the book are some places I had already heard of and some I've never heard of before, like Camelot, Atlantis, Timbuktu, Shambhala, Olympus, Avalon, The Garden of Eden, Thebes, Troy, etc. I really enjoyed reading this book.

[Luna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a lovely book that has some beautiful artwork going on. It discusses civilisations that exist thousands of years ago as well as mythical worlds. It has a little write-up for each group, with a mixture of fantasy and reality. A real coffee table book with perhaps a slant for children.

[reed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short accounts of lost and mythical cities with illustrations. Lovely and a fun read.

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great pictures! Picked it up for my son; we both enjoyed looking at the illustrations and dreaming.

[Moe · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned that Atlantis was underwater and that it belonged to the Greeks.