Call Me Gorgeous!

Each double page spread in this handsomely produced landscape picture book depicts part of a mysterious animal. What could it be? The bold, expressive artwork in collage and coloured pencil conveys texture and a sense that beneath each element – the sharp, pointed teeth; the delicate, veiny membranous wings; the furry ears; the scaly tail etc – is the living, breathing creature. The final page has the denouement when we see an extraordinary hybrid and discover that whatever else it might be called, it knows it is ‘gorgeous’. The endpapers depict the animals (reindeer, pig, crocodile, bat, chameleon etc) from which body parts have been borrowed. This book is a delightful puzzle for a small reader and it ends in a good joke. On the way, there is much to marvel at in the intricate beauty of the animal world so intensely conveyed in Alexandra Milton’s stunning illustration.