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Penguins: Stunning photographs of the World's favourite seabird
Did you know that penguins have wings and feathers but they can’t fly? Instead they have evolved into the most efficient swimmers and divers of all birds. Even on land penguins are surprisingly agile and can travel vast distances on foot or by ‘toboganning’, sliding on their stomachs over the ice’ propelled by their wings and feet. Penguins is an outstanding collection of photographs showing these intriguing animals in their natural habitat. You’ll discover how penguins survive the frozen Antarctic; their short outer feathers overlap, like tiles on a roof, to form a thick waterproof layer, and underneath are fluffier feathers for warmth. They also huddle together to keep warm. How do penguins sleep? They take short naps during the day and evening. They have the unique ability to sleep while standing up or in the water. Penguins features a variety of species, from the Emperor, Chinstrap and Adelie penguins in the Antarctic to the Magellanic, Southern Rockhopper and Yellow- crested Macaroni penguins of Chile. With full captions explaining how these animals hunt and feed, rear their young and cope with such adverse weather conditions, Penguins is a brilliant examination in 150 outstanding colour photographs of this fascinating animal.
- GenresNonfiction
224 pages, Hardcover
Published March 14, 2020
About the author
Tom Jackson
683 books62 followers"I'm a non-fiction author and project editor (plus I do a bit of journalism). I'm available for project development, writing, project management and I also work as a packager. Click on the links above to see examples of my work.
But first some background: Over the last 20 years, I've written books, magazine and newspaper articles, for online and for television. I get to write about a wide range of subjects, everything from axolotls to zoroastrianism. However, my specialties are natural history, technology and all things scientific. I've worked on projects with Brian May, Patrick Moore, Marcus de Sautoy and Carol Vorderman and for major international publishers, such as Dorling Kindersley, National Geographic, Scholastic, Hachette, Facts on File and BBC Magazines.
I spend my days finding fun ways of communicating all kinds of facts, new and old, to every age group and reading ability. I live in Bristol, England, with my wife and three children. I studied zoology at Bristol University and have had spells working at the zoos in Jersey and Surrey. I used to be something of a conservationist, which included planting trees in Somerset, surveying Vietnamese jungle and rescuing buffaloes from drought-ridden Zimbabwe. Writing jobs have also taken me to the Galápagos Islands, the Amazon rainforest, the coral reefs of Indonesia and the Sahara Desert. Nowadays, I can be found mainly in the attic."
~http://tomjackson.weebly.com/
But first some background: Over the last 20 years, I've written books, magazine and newspaper articles, for online and for television. I get to write about a wide range of subjects, everything from axolotls to zoroastrianism. However, my specialties are natural history, technology and all things scientific. I've worked on projects with Brian May, Patrick Moore, Marcus de Sautoy and Carol Vorderman and for major international publishers, such as Dorling Kindersley, National Geographic, Scholastic, Hachette, Facts on File and BBC Magazines.
I spend my days finding fun ways of communicating all kinds of facts, new and old, to every age group and reading ability. I live in Bristol, England, with my wife and three children. I studied zoology at Bristol University and have had spells working at the zoos in Jersey and Surrey. I used to be something of a conservationist, which included planting trees in Somerset, surveying Vietnamese jungle and rescuing buffaloes from drought-ridden Zimbabwe. Writing jobs have also taken me to the Galápagos Islands, the Amazon rainforest, the coral reefs of Indonesia and the Sahara Desert. Nowadays, I can be found mainly in the attic."
~http://tomjackson.weebly.com/
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 6, 2020
I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
Oh My Gosh, I just love penguins they are just the cutest and so I had to see if I could get this book when I saw it on Netgalley. And here I am, going through this book with gorgeous photographs.
Yep, this is a book filled to the brim with penguin photographs along with some small information at each photograph. Sadly, I had a hard time reading those small bits of information as it was quite a tiny font. I could have zoomed in, but I know that my ADE will crash at times when I do that. :P So I just fully enjoyed the penguins.
We get to see all sorts of penguins, from the emperor penguin to the Gentoo penguin (which I had to look up as they did seem recognisable but I never heard that name, apparently in Dutch they are called ezelspïnguin and that is a name I do recognise). I am delighted that we get to see so many varieties of penguins. Some books just focus on one or two kinds, but it seems this book just went all out.
The book is split up in sections. First up an introduction to all the wonderful and darling penguins, followed by them in the water, swimming fishing and having a good time, followed by penguins on land shouting at each other, huddling together for warmth, walking and running, followed by all about the penguin family and their chicks which had me awwing even more as it was just so gorgeous and sweet. I am happy they made various sections.
I love the photographs they were so clear and beautiful (I know this sounds silly but I have seen photography books with grainyness or blurry images). Some got real close to the penguin, so close it was as if you were just standing next time them. And some we see the penguins in motion. Running, gliding, slipping, jumping, and trying to do all sorts of stunts we recognise from documentaries or from the gifs that can be found on the internet.
All in all, highly recommended if you are fan of penguins or if you are looking for a new photography book to enjoy.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Oh My Gosh, I just love penguins they are just the cutest and so I had to see if I could get this book when I saw it on Netgalley. And here I am, going through this book with gorgeous photographs.
Yep, this is a book filled to the brim with penguin photographs along with some small information at each photograph. Sadly, I had a hard time reading those small bits of information as it was quite a tiny font. I could have zoomed in, but I know that my ADE will crash at times when I do that. :P So I just fully enjoyed the penguins.
We get to see all sorts of penguins, from the emperor penguin to the Gentoo penguin (which I had to look up as they did seem recognisable but I never heard that name, apparently in Dutch they are called ezelspïnguin and that is a name I do recognise). I am delighted that we get to see so many varieties of penguins. Some books just focus on one or two kinds, but it seems this book just went all out.
The book is split up in sections. First up an introduction to all the wonderful and darling penguins, followed by them in the water, swimming fishing and having a good time, followed by penguins on land shouting at each other, huddling together for warmth, walking and running, followed by all about the penguin family and their chicks which had me awwing even more as it was just so gorgeous and sweet. I am happy they made various sections.
I love the photographs they were so clear and beautiful (I know this sounds silly but I have seen photography books with grainyness or blurry images). Some got real close to the penguin, so close it was as if you were just standing next time them. And some we see the penguins in motion. Running, gliding, slipping, jumping, and trying to do all sorts of stunts we recognise from documentaries or from the gifs that can be found on the internet.
All in all, highly recommended if you are fan of penguins or if you are looking for a new photography book to enjoy.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
March 14, 2020
If you like penguins, even just a little, you seriously need this book. The pictures are absolutely STUNNING, though it doesn't hurt that penguins are just so ADORABLE!!!
Each picture is captioned with information about the penguin/s in the picture. I'm not a penguin professional, I just think they are adorable, so I learned quite a bit about the different types of penguins out there and my mind was blown on more than one occasion when I saw pictures of penguins in a desert-like environment and in a forest. Seriously, who knew?!? (Well, maybe everyone other than me. I only come out from under my rock once in a while.)
So yes, you will learn from this book and will go ga-ga over the pictures, I was "squeeing" every few pages or so. Cuz cute penguins are CUTE! (SQUEE)
I also really liked how this book wasn't all like "humans suck and because of humans, penguin numbers are going down and they will all be gone because humans are bad". That point comes up a LOT in non-fiction books, but this one decided to just show the reader beautiful pictures of adorable penguins and tell us really cool facts about them. Thank you! Yes, I know the penguin population is probably suffering from humans, but it's inclusion would have made this book less awesome for me.
As you can probably guess, I HIGHLY recommend this book. 5, adorable waddling, stars!
My thanks to NetGalley and Amber Books Ltd for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.
Each picture is captioned with information about the penguin/s in the picture. I'm not a penguin professional, I just think they are adorable, so I learned quite a bit about the different types of penguins out there and my mind was blown on more than one occasion when I saw pictures of penguins in a desert-like environment and in a forest. Seriously, who knew?!? (Well, maybe everyone other than me. I only come out from under my rock once in a while.)
So yes, you will learn from this book and will go ga-ga over the pictures, I was "squeeing" every few pages or so. Cuz cute penguins are CUTE! (SQUEE)
I also really liked how this book wasn't all like "humans suck and because of humans, penguin numbers are going down and they will all be gone because humans are bad". That point comes up a LOT in non-fiction books, but this one decided to just show the reader beautiful pictures of adorable penguins and tell us really cool facts about them. Thank you! Yes, I know the penguin population is probably suffering from humans, but it's inclusion would have made this book less awesome for me.
As you can probably guess, I HIGHLY recommend this book. 5, adorable waddling, stars!
My thanks to NetGalley and Amber Books Ltd for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2020
Tom Jackson gets a number of things right in Penguins. Start with the most important thing, the raison d'etre of this beautiful book -- the photographs: a couple of hundred pictures of penguins that are absolutely stunning, expertly selected, intelligently organized, and gorgeously reproduced.
These photos come from a variety of sources, they were not shot expressly for this publication, but they nevertheless represent a worthy collection showing all facets of what the title may rightly call the world's favorite seabird and may in fact be the world's favorite bird, period -- it has certainly become my favorite bird since my recent visit to Antarctica, where I got to observe tens of thousands of Gentoo, Adelie and Chinstraps in person.
But Jackson gets a number of other details right. Breaking it down to five simple areas -- types of penguin, penguins in water, penguins on land, penguin families, and penguin chicks. In particular, devoting an entire section to penguins in water is a brilliant decision -- everyone can picture the slapstick pratfalls of penguins on land, but it is in water where they transcend from the comical to the sublime, and that is well illustrated in this collection.
Jackson also makes a great choice in focusing the majority of his text within individual photo descriptions, with only one introductory page of text for each section. That means that every aspect of penguin life he describes is immediately illustrated in adjacent photos (which, did I mention?, are stunning). I also like that the variety of species -- not just the Emperor and King penguins that we almost always see, but all the others, especially the Gentoo, who are the strongest swimmers, and the Adelie, who are probably the most rambunctious.
I recently read and reviewed Charles Bergman's Every Penguin In the World (which like this book I got from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review), a highly personal and passionate take on his and his wife's love for penguins and their significance in their lives. This book is more of a straightforward look at penguins, making it an apt bookend, with both books having one important trait in common -- fabulous photographs of our favorite bird.
There is one thing Jackson could not do in the pages of a book, a visual medium -- left to the imagination are the unimaginably noisy and noisome qualities of penguins in their natural habitat. They may be a ton of fun to watch, but the racket they make and the stink they raise, well, you wouldn't want these guys living in your backyard. But by all means, make the trek to Antarctica or anywhere else you may find them to visit these most incredible of birds.
And in the meantime, check out this book (and the other one too).
These photos come from a variety of sources, they were not shot expressly for this publication, but they nevertheless represent a worthy collection showing all facets of what the title may rightly call the world's favorite seabird and may in fact be the world's favorite bird, period -- it has certainly become my favorite bird since my recent visit to Antarctica, where I got to observe tens of thousands of Gentoo, Adelie and Chinstraps in person.
But Jackson gets a number of other details right. Breaking it down to five simple areas -- types of penguin, penguins in water, penguins on land, penguin families, and penguin chicks. In particular, devoting an entire section to penguins in water is a brilliant decision -- everyone can picture the slapstick pratfalls of penguins on land, but it is in water where they transcend from the comical to the sublime, and that is well illustrated in this collection.
Jackson also makes a great choice in focusing the majority of his text within individual photo descriptions, with only one introductory page of text for each section. That means that every aspect of penguin life he describes is immediately illustrated in adjacent photos (which, did I mention?, are stunning). I also like that the variety of species -- not just the Emperor and King penguins that we almost always see, but all the others, especially the Gentoo, who are the strongest swimmers, and the Adelie, who are probably the most rambunctious.
I recently read and reviewed Charles Bergman's Every Penguin In the World (which like this book I got from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review), a highly personal and passionate take on his and his wife's love for penguins and their significance in their lives. This book is more of a straightforward look at penguins, making it an apt bookend, with both books having one important trait in common -- fabulous photographs of our favorite bird.
There is one thing Jackson could not do in the pages of a book, a visual medium -- left to the imagination are the unimaginably noisy and noisome qualities of penguins in their natural habitat. They may be a ton of fun to watch, but the racket they make and the stink they raise, well, you wouldn't want these guys living in your backyard. But by all means, make the trek to Antarctica or anywhere else you may find them to visit these most incredible of birds.
And in the meantime, check out this book (and the other one too).
March 8, 2020
Originally published on my blog: Nonstop Reader.
Penguins: Stunning photographs of the World's Favourite Seabird is a gorgeous photographic tribute to the iconic bird. Due out 14th March 2020 from Amber Books UK, it's 224 pages and will be available in hardcover format.
This is an absolutely stunning visual ode to all things penguin. The book has a logical and trim layout which doesn't detract from the impact of the photography. A short introduction leads seamlessly into an overview over classification and types of penguins. These chapters are followed by habitat shots of penguins on land and in the sea. The family cycle and breeding along with appealing photos of chicks fill out the rest of the content.
The photographs are the work of a number of credited wildlife photographers. The quality is universally very high and this is a beautifully curated collection of really clear pictures of appealing penguins living their often challenging lives. The accompanying text is brief but accurate and well written.
This would make a superlative gift for fans of wildlife, birdwatchers, nature lovers. It would also make a lovely coffee table book.
Five stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Penguins: Stunning photographs of the World's Favourite Seabird is a gorgeous photographic tribute to the iconic bird. Due out 14th March 2020 from Amber Books UK, it's 224 pages and will be available in hardcover format.
This is an absolutely stunning visual ode to all things penguin. The book has a logical and trim layout which doesn't detract from the impact of the photography. A short introduction leads seamlessly into an overview over classification and types of penguins. These chapters are followed by habitat shots of penguins on land and in the sea. The family cycle and breeding along with appealing photos of chicks fill out the rest of the content.
The photographs are the work of a number of credited wildlife photographers. The quality is universally very high and this is a beautifully curated collection of really clear pictures of appealing penguins living their often challenging lives. The accompanying text is brief but accurate and well written.
This would make a superlative gift for fans of wildlife, birdwatchers, nature lovers. It would also make a lovely coffee table book.
Five stars.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
March 7, 2020
What a beautiful book packed with stunning photography giving an overview of all things penguin. This book brings home the variety of penguin species that there are. When thinking of penguins its often the emperor huddled in the Antarctic winter that comes to mind but this book shows both the number of species and also the range of environments in which they live, including one species that just nudges into the northern hemisphere.
Normally when reviewing a book I try to avoid repeating things but it is important to emphasise the stunning photography, I loved the fact that there were familiar subjects in typical poses but many of the images were very different in their approach whether it be showing a different aspect of the birds or using a lighting effect to raise the picture. A wide range of behaviours is shown giving an insight to their lives, alongside the photographs there are informative captions.
This is just the sort of book any wildlife lover will want to p.p.p.pick up and enjoy!
Normally when reviewing a book I try to avoid repeating things but it is important to emphasise the stunning photography, I loved the fact that there were familiar subjects in typical poses but many of the images were very different in their approach whether it be showing a different aspect of the birds or using a lighting effect to raise the picture. A wide range of behaviours is shown giving an insight to their lives, alongside the photographs there are informative captions.
This is just the sort of book any wildlife lover will want to p.p.p.pick up and enjoy!
March 11, 2020
Penguins by Tom Jackson was a beautiful book throughout. I love penguins and I was so pleased when I downloaded this new book about Penguins. It's full of fantastic, clear and wonderful photos through and its crammed with so much information about them. I learnt so much looking and reading the information about this wonderful birds.
This is a must if you just love these funny birds. I just wish this book could come alive!!!
I highly recommended if you are fan of penguins or if you are looking for a new photography of them.
Big Thank you to Amber Books Ltd and Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
This is a must if you just love these funny birds. I just wish this book could come alive!!!
I highly recommended if you are fan of penguins or if you are looking for a new photography of them.
Big Thank you to Amber Books Ltd and Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.
March 11, 2020
A collection of stunning images that expertly highlights the beauty and wonder of one of the most charming animals on the planet. From the stark majestic landscapes of Antarctica to the warmer climates of South Africa, these incredible animals will appeal to every reader. The details in the photographs are sublime, showing the true characters of my favourite animals.
It's exquisite.
I received a copy from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for a review.
It's exquisite.
I received a copy from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for a review.
March 6, 2020
Penguins by Tom Jackson. I liked the Penguins. When I lived in Minnesota we visited the Penguins at the Minnesota Zoo and the Como Zoo both had beautiful exhibits. I loved the pictures of the penguins especially the blue penguin. Was a very interesting book and very informative.
June 24, 2021
Absolutely stunning pictures and although I knew about 99% of the info it has spectacular pictures of penguins, and amazing close ups.
March 14, 2020
A collection of photographs with captions to teach you about Penguins. The photographs are beautiful. The captions were interesting and filled with information. I am excited to see the hard copy of the book. I learned things I did not know about penguins and even saw pictures of penguins I didn't even know existed.
March 25, 2020
I have long admired penguins so was excited to read this book.
Filled with beautiful photographs of penguins of all species and facts about their habitat, habits and features this book was educational as well as pleasing to look at.
In my class for the past couple of years we have used a story about penguins to launch into learning about animals living in the polar regions. This would be a great addition to help us find out more. The close up pictures of each species would be great to use to write descriptions of penguins and to compare them to other birds.
I received an eARC of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Filled with beautiful photographs of penguins of all species and facts about their habitat, habits and features this book was educational as well as pleasing to look at.
In my class for the past couple of years we have used a story about penguins to launch into learning about animals living in the polar regions. This would be a great addition to help us find out more. The close up pictures of each species would be great to use to write descriptions of penguins and to compare them to other birds.
I received an eARC of this book from the publishers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
March 10, 2026
Lovely introduction to these charming birds; nice pictures!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews