The library has just received the latest book by Gary Crew. Crew is a writer of large format picture books for older children and teens. Cat on the Island is his first book that is based in New Zealand. It tells the true story of the establishment of a lighthouse on Stephens Island (now a wildlife refuge) and the extinction of the Stephens Island Wren.
The imagery in this book is amazing. Cats are portrayed as red monsters with yellow eyes and interspersed through the book are double page spreads with no words, just magnificent graphic pieces of art.
Crew’s books are always well illustrated and also have a concise, haunting story. There is nothing worse than a beautiful book with a mediocre story! First time illustrator Gillian Warden, an artist who specialises in surreal bird portraits, expertly pulls out the details that allow the words and pictures to work so well together.
This book would be a great resource for older children and teens who are studying extinction, ecology, endangered species…the list goes on.
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