The Insect Wonderland: Verse and Illustration by Sybil Kent Kane - Softcover

Kane, Sybil Kent

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0977735605 ISBN 13: 9780977735600

Publisher: One World Press, 2018

Synopsis

The Insect Wonderland is a relatively unknown gem that is totally unique among children's literature. Classic poetry and breathtakingly beautiful detailed illustrations celebrating nature and the importance of insects to the interdependent web of life on our planet.

The Insect Wonderland is not only a beautiful children's book, but also a loving tribute from the author's niece, who vowed to publish it.

Sybil Kent Kane was born in 1902 and studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts under Joseph Pennell. This book is the result of her love of nature, art and poetry, and she worked on the beautiful pen and ink watercolors until blindness prevented her from finishing it.

After her death in 1994, the manuscript with artwork was discovered under her bed, needing only the completion of the cover and type placement. Her niece, Carol Kane Simerly, published this beautiful legacy for generations to enjoy.

Each letter of the alphabet is represented by an insect and the accompanying poem explains a bit about its life. Katydids come to life with violins and cellos. Inchworms roll out tiny measuring tapes and ants don carpenter caps, complimented with tiny construction tools.

The whole alphabet is represented and each insect is depicted faithfully and with detail. Only the sweet faces of the little inhabitants show the difference between a technical field guide and a children's book.

The illustrations are charming and the poetry delightful. The Insect Wonderland is a labor of love that spans 2 centuries and over 3 generations, now shared with the world.

Each insect is represented accurately and its habits faithfully described, right down to firefly larvae eating snails.

The beautiful pen and ink illustrations, with color, are vintage examples of the type of work popular in the middle of the 20th Century and they remind me of the images John R. Neill created for the famous Wizard of Oz series that spanned over 50 years. Suitable for inquisitive toddlers, or young readers anxious to read books on their own, this exquisite book is rich with information tailored to youngsters.

This truly is an educational book that can be appreciated by readers of all ages. Wonderful verse to read aloud to your loved ones.

About this title

About the Author:

Sybil was born in 1901 and is a direct descent of General Thomas Kane, a Civil War General, and Elisha Kent Kane, the well-known arctic explorer. She studied art at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts under Joseph Pennell, a world renowned illustrator.She was an exceptional artist, very adept at detail. She started this work in her middle years and created the enchanting poetry, illustrating each page beautifully with pen, ink, and watercolor. THE INSECT WONDERLAND became her life's work. All the fascinating entomological facts are correct. She researched the scientific knowledge of her time

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

A is for ants

and aphids, too;

Who are the ants' cows,

Though they can't moo.

They're fed all summer

On Mama's pet plants

Carefully tended

By farmer ants.

In winter time

They will be found

In an ant's barn,

Under the ground

"Little aphids,

What can you do?

Why are the ants

So good to you?"

"We give the ant's milk

Ant that is why

We are so prized

And can live so high.

"We'd never change

Our master's-never!"

These ants, they are

So very clever."

Ants can do anything

Under the sun;

Anyway, anything

Than can be done.

Farmer, miners,

And carpenters, too

'Most every job

That man can do.

About this edition

• Publisher: One World Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0977735605
• ISBN 13: 9780977735600
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 56