In Journey to the Ice Age: Mammoths and Other Animals of the Wild, Rien Poortvliet, the famed Dutch illustrator of the highly acclaimed Gnomes and Secrets of the Gnomes, sits in an imaginary seat high up on a ladder and he takes us on a journey back hundreds and thousands of years, making vivid observations of animals, both real and imagined, along the way. Best known for his portrayals and stories of people, animals, and such fantastic creatures as gnomes, Poortvliet gives us a privileged look at animals from both the present and the past and captures their beauty in this newly illustrated volume.
Starting in present-day Holland, Poortvliet observes, and illustrates, the many animals who inhabit this earth, in great detail. He may catch a rabbit, lynx, or partridge sauntering by, or admire a doe with her young right beneath him. He takes notice of foxes, deer, and wolves, and portrays them realistically and convincingly.
Poortvliet continues on his journey to the sixteenth century, a time when humans coexisted with such predators as bears, lynx, and wolves, and other wild animals. His journey ends with the people and animals of the Ice Age, and he imagines the now-extinct mammoth and other creatures in their natural habitat – the giant deer, the wooly rhinoceros, the wild horse, the auroch, and the cave lion.
Exploring the boundaries of time travel and studying the wild animals at close range, Poortvliet documents their daily habits and rituals. His colorful account unfolds before us to reveal the many interesting facts about the mammals: How much bigger is an elk than a deer or a doe? How do you subdue a rhinoceros? How many pounds is a mammoth’s daily food intake?
Journey to the Ice Age: Mammoths and Other Creatures of the Wild is filled with over 220 pages of full-color illustrations that will bring to life many of these now-extinct animals. Poortvliet’s countless fans will be enchanted with this new and intriguing book.
