Royal Animals: A gorgeously illustrated history with a foreword by Sir Michael Morpurgo

By Author / Illustrator

Julia Golding, Emily Sutton, Michael Morpurgo

Genre

Animals

Age range(s)

Publisher

Pan Macmillan

ISBN

9781529070354

Format

Hardback

Published

23-03-2023

Synopsis

A beautifully illustrated history of royal animals in Britain from 1066 to the present day, with a foreword by Sir Michael Morpurgo. Why do the three lions on the British crest look so much like leopards? When did the first elephant set foot on British soil? Was there really a polar bear who fished in the river Thames?

The perfect sumptuous gift for animal lovers, this large hardback includes a jacket with elegant red foil detailing, gold corgi endpapers and stunning hand-painted illustrations on every page from renowned artist Emily Sutton. Full of astounding facts and amazing true animal stories, delve in to discover royal giraffes, elephants, spaniels, parrots, ravens, pelicans and, of course, Queen Elizabeth II's corgis.

Royal Animals is engagingly written, with artwork from Emily Sutton, the illustrator of Everyone Sang, William Sieghart's poetry collection. Emily is also the illustrator of Paddington creator Michael Bond's Castle Mice series. This fascinating exploration of 1000 years of royal animals is written by Julia Golding, the author of The Queen's Wardrobe, illustrated by Kate Hindley.

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Reviews

Royal Animals: An Illustrated History is a very timely addition for any school projects this summer regarding royalty. Most children are animal lovers and this book may well spark the interest of a child who hasn't quite taken to the humans being discussed!

It's a glorious 'dip in and out' book about the animals our Royal Families have prized and cherished right from the Normans all the way up to the current House of Windsor. Why did William the Conqueror prize the deer in the forests? Who added the lions to the Royal Crest? What is the legend about the Ravens in the Tower of London...

All these questions are answered in a beautifully told way - one page per animal and a gorgeous full-colour, whole page illustration to go with it. Michael Foreman has written the foreword and added a lovely local royal animal tale of his own. Or should that be tail? A great addition to a school or classroom library or sumptuous present for any animal-loving key stage two reader.

48 pages / Reviewed by Wendy Kelly, teacher