Spectacular: Miracles of Nature

by Philippe Nessmann, Alex Asfour (Illustrator)

Discover Earth's amazing beauty! Pink lakes, giant crystal caves, ice flowers, and polar lights are some of the spectacular natural phenomena featured in this large format book. The stunning illustrations are accompanied by fascinating facts about the phenomena and the science behind them.
• Supersized spreads with eye-catching illustrations that capture readers' attention
• Bite-sized explanations about each phenomena
• Educational content reviewed by experts
 
An indispensable resource for any child's library!    
• Great family and classroom read-aloud book.
• Nonfiction books for kids
• Educational books for elementary school students

48 pages, Hardcover

Published September 19, 2023

About the author

Passionné de science, d’histoire et d’écriture, Philippe Nessmann est, jusqu’en 2003, journaliste pour le magazine Science et Vie Junior. Il dirige désormais la collection «Kézako» aux éditions Mango Jeunesse. Chez Flammarion jeunesse il a publié de nombreux récits historiques, notamment Les exploits de l’Aérospaciale et Lucie Aubrac Résistante.

Reviews

[Stacie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Earth is full of fascinating and beautiful miracles of nature. Some of these natural phenomena can be explained while others are a mystery. Overall, these beautiful places are rare and spectacular.

Spectacular Miracles of Nature page spread
From rivers, waterfalls, and oceans to mountains and deserts, there are numerous miracles to see all around the world. The pink color of Lake Hillier in Australia provides necessary nutrients that allow the flamingos to stay pink thanks to the algae that is eaten by the shrimp that is eaten by the flamingos. Without it, flamingos would be grey.

I still have yet to see an Aurora Borealis but there are all kinds of light shows that can be seen including Light Pillars, a Rainbow Cloud, False Suns, and Shooting Stars. Even a lightning storm can be an amazing light show.

This oversized book with thick pages shares illustrations of all kinds of beautiful places around the world. Each category offers brief paragraphs to explain where the miracle is located as well as why it happens. The section on mysterious phenomena offers clues to these scientific miracles, but they are still a mystery. The end of the book includes a map with location dots so kids can see which ones are in the United States and other locations around the world, including Jaws, a monstrous wave off the northern coast of Hawaii.

There are all kinds of miracles to be seen in this world formed by weather, glaciers, atmospheric conditions, or mysterious reasons, but they are certainly sites to see and preserve for generations to come. Add this book to your homeschool curriculum or get a copy for your child’s classroom library.

[The Silvan Reverie | Sarah Street · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fascinating nonfiction picture book for elementary-aged children all about a wide range of natural phenomena. The book is nicely designed and contains a Table of Contents as well as reference map in the back to locate all of the natural "miracles" mentioned in the book. We see tsunamis, waterfalls, salt deserts, false suns, frost flowers, crystal caves, polar lights, and many more fascinating phenomena. Each item is given a short blurb and a specific reference. If children are interested in a particular topic they'd like want to go look up more than this book offers, but this serves as a nice introduction to a wide range of topics.

***Note: I was given a review copy of this book via Blue Slip Media. Opinions are my own.