Nature Is a Sculptor

Amazing, colorful photos and poetic text reveal the beauty of art formed formed by water, ice, and wind as it etches,, shapes, and carves the land into canyons, caves, towers, arches, hoodoos and more. The book shows nature as a sculptor and the ocean as a hammer, working to create natural forms of beauty. It offers a wide range of vocabulary, along with fascinating text and illustrations. text, and pictures. Informative and memorable.

This will be a must-have for my beauty in nature informational book display for fall. The book is about gorgeous natural phenomenon sculpted by erosion. The back matter was very informative and the photographs were breathtaking.

Oh my gosh. This book is beautiful.

I’d love to look at it again and again and share it with my children.

Nature truly is beautiful.

Wow. Double wow. Stunning. I live in Alaska where some of Mother Nature's work is visible just about anywhere but this was like getting a virtual tour of her best work everywhere. Not only are the photographs eye-catching and revealing but the rather lyrical text explains in an easily understandable way what we're seeing and how it was formed.

I honestly didn't expect to read this straight through almost as soon as I'd downloaded it but, well, a sneak peek hooked me. Not sure which photo is my favorite. They're all rather amazing. You can easily visualize some of the results standing in the world's most renowned museums in a reduced form, but the information provided is insightful. Put it together and it had me ready to grab my own camera and head out.

I won't detail the entries more as the blurb and, I'm sure, other reviews will do so. I'll simply say that I was impressed. Be ready to softly repeat "wow" repeatedly as you flip back and forth through the photos. Actually, I found myself so engrossed in them initially that I simply marveled at them first, then again as I went back and read. Whatever works for you.Thanks #NetGalley and #LernerPublishingGroup - #MillbrookPress for allowing me this wistful virtual tour. Now that my camera battery is charging, I'm thinking, hmm, Denali, anyone?

This book was really well done. The photos are beautiful and helpful and pair well with the text. Some STEAM in there. Great for earth science curriculum.

It is hard to find a solid science picture book for read-aloud that has photographs as illustrations. Nature Is a Sculptor: Weathering and Erosion by Heather Ferranti Kinser (Milbrook Press, September 2023) is such a book. It features photography of geological wonders from around the world, paired with soft poetry that is nice to read-aloud. It not only gives examples of the power of wind, ice, and water within the photos but it also uses practical vocabulary in the readable sentences, thus teaching the geological concepts of weathering, erosion, and deposition.


Each photo is labeled with the name of the geological feature (“Delicate Arch”), and where it is found. Various typefaces and text size emphasize different parts of the sentences, emphasizing the important words and highlighting the titular phrase “Nature is a sculptor” every few pages. The book does not talk down to the child reader and the sentences seamlessly flow from one to the next. The rhymes are not forced but rather “soft” rhymes, so when words don’t actually rhyme, it still has the assonance of a rhyme. For example, extremes is rhymed with museums and moves with smooths. It makes for such a pleasant read-aloud!

As is often to be expected, end matter further clarifies each scientific term, the photos are explained, and a glossary supplements the rest of the text. Even without the end matter, however, a young child will certainly appreciate the stunning landscapes in the photos. They will stand in awe of the concept that nature was the sculptor of these unique features around the world.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance review copy of this book provided by the publisher via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.