Mike Unwin
Author of What Makes You Ill?
About the Author
Mike Unwin is the author of more than 30 books for both adults and children, including the RSPB Bird Encyclopedia, RSPB Spotlight: Eagles and A Parliament of Owls. A specialist in natural history and travel, he writes regularly for numerous publication, including The Independent, The Telegraph, BBC show more Wildlife and RSPB Nature's Home. Mike was voted UK Travel Writer of the Year 2013 by the British Guild of Travel Writers. show less
Series
Works by Mike Unwin
Science with plants 1 copy
Associated Works
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1965
- Gender
- male
- Education
- University of Manchester
- Short biography
- [from Linked In profile]
UK-based, award-winning freelance writer and editor of books and magazines for both adults and children, specialising in travel and wildlife. Also speaker, illustrator and photographer. Previously worked in book publishing, taking various editorial roles for several different companies over 14 years. Worked for eight years in southern Africa.
Specialties: Travel writing; copy-writing; writing for children; illustrated book design; copy-editing; editorial project management; speaking; illustration; photography - Nationality
- England
UK - Places of residence
- Brighton, Sussex, England, UK
- Associated Place (for map)
- England, UK
Members
Reviews
I read this book with our kids who are 6 & 8. We love birds and enjoy watching many of our avian neighbors at our backyard feeders. This book was a great introduction to the species and covered a wild variety of topics about birds. Our kids loved learning more about baby birds, how birds fly, migration and more.
The illustrations were beautifully done and were a captivating part of this book for our young readers. We also enjoyed the mix of bird-related activities that were incorporated show more throughout this book. We have many more dense bird guides that we like to look at and this was a fun mix of both information and activities that were very engaging to read.
A big thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. show less
The illustrations were beautifully done and were a captivating part of this book for our young readers. We also enjoyed the mix of bird-related activities that were incorporated show more throughout this book. We have many more dense bird guides that we like to look at and this was a fun mix of both information and activities that were very engaging to read.
A big thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. show less
A wonderful, laugh and smile inducing look at the current state of major owl populations throughout the world. On the whole it provides excellent photographs and descriptions. It does get a bit repetitive though and I found myself skimming a bit toward the end. From this book I learned that owls don't build nests at all. Instead the appropriate an unused nest made by other birds - mostly cavity nests made by woodpeckers, but also stick nests and sometimes just on bare ground. Also most show more female owls are larger than their male counterparts, but oddly have higher-pitched voices. If you love owls and want the latest taxonomy information, this is your book. show less
Halfway between scientific and pop-sci, with many large gorgeous photos. Divided into types of birds - the waterfowl (eg geese and swans); the seabirds (eg albatross, terns, penguins); the songbirds (swallows, cuckoos); the predators (owls and hawks etc, including my new favourite, Eleonora's falcon); and miscellaneous (budgerigars, quail). Each of these chapters provides an overview of the type, followed by 2-4 pages (including illustrations) for each exemplar.
The text in those pages did show more get a little skimmable. Sometimes they had tidbits of interesting information about the bird, and of course it included information about their migrations. But there was also a lot of... more general information about size and colour and food source and just... not in an interesting way: in that sense this would be more use as a reference book rather than something to read straight through. show less
The text in those pages did show more get a little skimmable. Sometimes they had tidbits of interesting information about the bird, and of course it included information about their migrations. But there was also a lot of... more general information about size and colour and food source and just... not in an interesting way: in that sense this would be more use as a reference book rather than something to read straight through. show less
The illustrations alone in this book are worth the price of admission.The author provides not only interesting biology, but also explores how each bird species has interacted with humans, whether in folklore ,mythology or real life ….and definitely with the question of for better or for worse
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Statistics
- Works
- 43
- Also by
- 1
- Members
- 1,370
- Popularity
- #18,772
- Rating
- 4.2
- Reviews
- 16
- ISBNs
- 134
- Languages
- 9