ERIC HOFFER BOOK AWARD CATEGORY FINALIST
Ravens in Berlin . . . Parakeets in Brooklyn . . . Chickensin Tel Aviv . . . Spiders in Cognac. City creatures spark the imagination andintellect in words and art by this father-daughter team.
Odd Birds & Fat Cats (An Urban Bestiary)is anillustrated collection of brief observations on city creatures. Inspiredbythe tradition of the medieval bestiary, bestiarum vocabulum,a12th-century bestselling genrethat chronicled animals and beings bothreal and fantastical, the book features pithy impressions of birds and animalsthat delight, confound, and edify, writtenby Peter Wortsman, coupledwithdetailed naturalist artwork by his daughter, AurelieBernard Wortsman.
Featured creatures include:
Pigeons:"When, finally, it takes flight . . . thisasphalt-colored bird is like a piece of the pavement which by some fluke ofgravity broke loose and is foolishly falling upward by mistake."
Seagulls:"Fallen splinters of eternity, they hangoverhead with the equanimity and mild disdain of angels in a medievalaltarpiece, and unlike pigeons, refuse any direct contact with man."
Ants:"Micro-managers in three-piece bodies,antsparody human antics to a tee. Or is it the other way around?"
Dust mites:"Every time you scratch yourself or combyour hair, you are feeding the tiny intruders with the detritus of self."
With four-color images throughout, printed in a beautifulhardboundedition, this one-of-a-kind volume will please the discerning animal lover,traveler, art lover, iconoclast, and literati on your gift list-and, of course,also you!
