The Apple Bird ¦ The Nest ¦ All Fall Down ¦ The Island

Wildsmith plays visual jokes on his readers in these four sixteen page books, two of which, The Nest and The Apple Bird are wordless. In the former, close-up views show two birds building a nest, somewhat precariously balancing it between what looks like the branches of tree. The final spread is a long view and shows the fledglings departing from their home which, as is now revealed, rests on the antler of a deer.

The Apple Bird is aptly named as we see from the final pages, the juicy fruit having been progressively diminished in direct proportion to the growth in circumference of the greedy bird's devouring of same.

In All Fall Down we have a cumulative text with matching pictures as the onlooker is shown, by the widening perspective, the extent of a precarious balancing act and its inevitable collapse.

Three wild animals clamber from their raft onto The Island only to find that their 'terra' is far from 'firma' as it sinks, and then rises, and finally, walks to the river bank. Minimal text but the pictures speak volumes.