The Life and Art of John James Audubon
Birds were “the objects of my greatest delight,” wrote John James Audubon (1785–1851), founder of modern ornithology and one of the world’s greatest bird painters. His masterpiece, The Birds of America depicts almost five hundred North American bird species, each image—lifelike and life size—rendered in vibrant color. Audubon was also an explorer, a woodsman, a hunter, an entertaining and prolific writer, and an energetic self-promoter. Through talent and dogged determination, he rose from backwoods obscurity to international fame.
In This Strange Wilderness, award-winning author Nancy Plain brings together the amazing story of this American icon’s career and the beautiful images that are his legacy. Before Audubon, no one had seen, drawn, or written so much about the animals of this largely uncharted young country. Aware that the wilderness and its wildlife were changing even as he watched, Audubon remained committed almost to the end of his life “to search out the things which have been hidden since the creation of this wondrous world.” This Strange Wilderness details his art and writing, transporting the reader back to the frontiers of early nineteenth-century America.
Awards for This Strange Wilderness
* YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist
* Spur Award for Best Western Juvenile Nonfiction
* National Outdoor Book Award
* Nebraska Book Award
* Booklist Editors’ Choice
* Booklist “10 Best Children’s Biographies 2015”
* Booklist “Top 10 Science & Health Books for Youth 2015
* ”Booklist starred review
* Kirkus “Nine Teen Titles That Adults Shouldn’t Miss”
* Kirkus starred review
* Moonbeam Spirit Gold Award in Environmental Issues
* USA Best Book Awards Finalist in Young Adult Nonfiction

Awards
* YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction Finalist
* Spur Award for Best Western Juvenile Nonfiction
* National Outdoor Book Award
* Nebraska Book Award
* Booklist Editors’ Choice
* Booklist “10 Best Children’s Biographies 2015”
* Booklist “Top 10 Science & Health Books for Youth 2015″
* Booklist starred review
* Kirkus “Nine Teen Titles That Adults Shouldn’t Miss”
* Kirkus starred review
* Moonbeam Spirit Gold Award in Environmental Issues
* USA Best Book Awards Finalist in Young Adult Nonfiction
Professional and Peer Reviews
“John James Audubon’s 1838 masterpiece, The Birds of America, ‘marked the beginning of modern ornithology,’ and this volume dramatizes the life and times of the man who devoted his life to creating it.
Audubon’s life was a high-risk adventure story set in the early days of the United States, when Lewis and Clark had completed their explorations, settlers were beginning to head west, and the Trail of Tears—witnessed by Audubon—was an American tragedy. Audubon suffered the deaths of two baby girls and business failures and he put his marriage at risk to do what he loved more than anything—tramp across the country and paint birds. In an age before photography, he created detailed, lifelike paintings of 489 species of birds, each bird looking real enough to ‘hop off the page and fly away.’ The beautifully designed volume includes many reproductions of Audubon’s paintings, from the owls on the cover to the many full-page, full-color interior illustrations. Though occasionally florid, Plain’s writing—drawing largely on Audubon’s own—is lively and colorful, perfect for describing the swamps, forest, rivers, and prairies Audubon so loved. Like Audubon’s paintings, this volume ‘glow[s] with life.’
A superb introduction to the life and times of a great American artist and naturalist. (appendix, glossary, source notes, bibliography, illustration credits, index) (Biography. 9-14)

“Raised in wealth and privilege in France, 18-year-old Jean-Jacques Audubon was sent by his father to America to avoid service in Napoleon’s army. When he arrived in his adopted country, he already loved searching for birds and sketching them but was dissatisfied with his drawings. Over the next few years, he honed his skills as both naturalist and artist—he also married, moved to the frontier, and lost his fortune. At 36, he began the ambitious project of creating The Birds of America, the monumental book that would establish his lasting reputation as an ornithologist and artist. Plain chronicles Audubon’s adventurous life in a succinct, absorbing narrative that is well researched, meticulously documented, and beautifully written. The excellent color illustrations include photos and sketches as well as many paintings. Quotes from Audubon’s writings add his lively voice to the narrative, and he emerges as a complex figure struggling, with little success, to balance his love of nature, adventure, and family. Plain also clearly explains why Audubon’s bird illustrations were groundbreaking in their time and are still admired today. Insightful background reading for fans of Gary D. Schmidt’s novel Okay for Now (2011), this biography offers a vivid introduction to Audubon’s life and work.”

“In this marvelous biography for teens, Nancy Plain brings John James Audubon to life. Audubon was a pioneering naturalist, an adventurer in a country with vast regions still unmapped. Life was not easy in the early 1800s, and he endured business failures and the death of two of his children shortly after their births. Despite these losses, he found solace in the act of painting birds and was drawn again and again into the natural world. Complimenting Plain’s engaging story are paintings by the master himself. Full color reproductions of Audubon’s famous art work are found on almost every other page. From start to finish, this is a fascinating glimpse of a great American naturalist.”

Book Awards Foundation, Inc.
“And now it is summer, and the days are longer and lighter, and birds are thinking about doing what birds do—building nests, laying eggs, cheeping outside your window at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m. A good time, perhaps, to read Nancy Plain’s short and lovely biography of American ornithologist John James Audubon, This Strange Wilderness (University of Nebraska Press, $19.95, 136 pages).
Plain draws on Audubon’s writings and fantastic tales of adventure (true? some? maybe?) as he crisscrossed America, shooting the birds he loved so he could paint them accurately, annoying his various employers, making enemies, missing his family.
Despite often painting from posed dead birds, Audubon (1785-1851) breathed life and movement into his paintings, depicting his birds in action—a wild turkey hurrying her poults along a path, a swirling hawk threatening a cloud of bobwhites, mockingbirds defending their nests from a rattlesnake.
For the mockingbird painting, Audubon posed a dead rattlesnake that was 6 feet long. He found he was unable to finish the painting in one sitting, “because the stench became too strong.”
Plain has chosen quirky and interesting snippets of Audubon’s life, nicely illustrated with 44 color plates, for this readable and fascinating little book.”





Magnificent Tramp

“John James Audubon’s 1838 masterpiece, The Birds of America, ‘marked the beginning of modern ornithology,’ and this volume dramatizes the life and times of the man who devoted his life to creating it.
Audubon’s life was a high-risk adventure story set in the early days of the United States, when Lewis and Clark had completed their explorations, settlers were beginning to head west, and the Trail of Tears—witnessed by Audubon—was an American tragedy. Audubon suffered the deaths of two baby girls and business failures and he put his marriage at risk to do what he loved more than anything—tramp across the country and paint birds. In an age before photography, he created detailed, lifelike paintings of 489 species of birds, each bird looking real enough to ‘hop off the page and fly away.’ The beautifully designed volume includes many reproductions of Audubon’s paintings, from the owls on the cover to the many full-page, full-color interior illustrations. Though occasionally florid, Plain’s writing—drawing largely on Audubon’s own—is lively and colorful, perfect for describing the swamps, forest, rivers, and prairies Audubon so loved. Like Audubon’s paintings, this volume ‘glow[s] with life.’
A superb introduction to the life and times of a great American artist and naturalist. (appendix, glossary, source notes, bibliography, illustration credits, index) (Biography. 9-14)

“Raised in wealth and privilege in France, 18-year-old Jean-Jacques Audubon was sent by his father to America to avoid service in Napoleon’s army. When he arrived in his adopted country, he already loved searching for birds and sketching them but was dissatisfied with his drawings. Over the next few years, he honed his skills as both naturalist and artist—he also married, moved to the frontier, and lost his fortune. At 36, he began the ambitious project of creating The Birds of America, the monumental book that would establish his lasting reputation as an ornithologist and artist. Plain chronicles Audubon’s adventurous life in a succinct, absorbing narrative that is well researched, meticulously documented, and beautifully written. The excellent color illustrations include photos and sketches as well as many paintings. Quotes from Audubon’s writings add his lively voice to the narrative, and he emerges as a complex figure struggling, with little success, to balance his love of nature, adventure, and family. Plain also clearly explains why Audubon’s bird illustrations were groundbreaking in their time and are still admired today. Insightful background reading for fans of Gary D. Schmidt’s novel Okay for Now (2011), this biography offers a vivid introduction to Audubon’s life and work.”

“In this marvelous biography for teens, Nancy Plain brings John James Audubon to life. Audubon was a pioneering naturalist, an adventurer in a country with vast regions still unmapped. Life was not easy in the early 1800s, and he endured business failures and the death of two of his children shortly after their births. Despite these losses, he found solace in the act of painting birds and was drawn again and again into the natural world. Complimenting Plain’s engaging story are paintings by the master himself. Full color reproductions of Audubon’s famous art work are found on almost every other page. From start to finish, this is a fascinating glimpse of a great American naturalist.”

Book Awards Foundation, Inc.
“And now it is summer, and the days are longer and lighter, and birds are thinking about doing what birds do—building nests, laying eggs, cheeping outside your window at the ungodly hour of 5 a.m. A good time, perhaps, to read Nancy Plain’s short and lovely biography of American ornithologist John James Audubon, This Strange Wilderness (University of Nebraska Press, $19.95, 136 pages).
Plain draws on Audubon’s writings and fantastic tales of adventure (true? some? maybe?) as he crisscrossed America, shooting the birds he loved so he could paint them accurately, annoying his various employers, making enemies, missing his family.
Despite often painting from posed dead birds, Audubon (1785-1851) breathed life and movement into his paintings, depicting his birds in action—a wild turkey hurrying her poults along a path, a swirling hawk threatening a cloud of bobwhites, mockingbirds defending their nests from a rattlesnake.
For the mockingbird painting, Audubon posed a dead rattlesnake that was 6 feet long. He found he was unable to finish the painting in one sitting, “because the stench became too strong.”
Plain has chosen quirky and interesting snippets of Audubon’s life, nicely illustrated with 44 color plates, for this readable and fascinating little book.”





Magnificent Tramp

Reader Reviews
Reading through this book felt like reading a story, not a dry biography. The Audubon quotes demonstrated both his intelligence and his personality. The book also is full of photographs of the Audubons and Audubon's beautiful paintings. I also learned a lot about Audubon that I never knew, such as his early childhood and the fact that he drew mammals after he completed his book of birds. This was a fascinating read and one that I would recommend for middle-school and up. It contains a nice blend of science and history and would also make an excellent book for the homeschooling crowd!

Nancy Plain’s This Strange Wilderness: The Life and Art of John James Audubon joins her long list of masterpiece writing. Plain tells the life story of John James Audubon in a concise, lively manner. Her book is illustrated with the great artwork of America’s premier ornithologist. Together the smooth engaging prose and the excellent choice of images will keep young and old thoroughly engaged to the end and wanting to learn more about Audubon and his work.
VIEW ON AMAZON

This book brings to life Audubon in ways that I never knew about. It's bursting with his beautiful works of art. The author tells about his incredible journey. It is written in a very cleanly but in a rich and in depth way. Sometimes you feel like a bird, sometimes you feel like Audubon because it draws you in. I just found out about Nancy Plain and am going to see if she has any other books out there.
VIEW ON AMAZON
