Fabulous 590s and Nic Bishop

Laser detectors, flash guns, and hand-built shutters help Nic Bishop take phenomenal animal photos, but that's probably not what readers are thinking about when they pick up his books.  In fact, the photos are so captivating that you don't really think about a person being involved in their creation at all.  Instead, each feels like a unique story that you have happened upon just by turning a page.  Whether it's a baby koala waiting for his mother to wake up, a snake swallowing an egg, or a basilisk darting across a pond, Nic Bishop's photos express the action and emotion of you-are-there moments.

Nic Bishop has a great website with information about his photography, his research, his books, and his life.  These resources, combined with the notes at the back of his books, make booktalking his books a cinch.

I was sharing Nic Bishop Lizards with a fourth-grade class when one of the girls pointed to our display of books and asked, "Did he take the pictures for ALL these books?'

"Yes," I assured her, "He took them all."

"Really?  Even for the spider book?"

"Yep, even for the spider book."

I quickly changed my plan for that class and began telling them how Mr. Bishop had kept several of the spiders in his home and had even taken them "on holiday . . . if they needed special care".  Then I opened Nic Bishop Spiders to the title page.  That same girl took one look at the gorgeous crab spider camouflaged on goldenrod flowers, and her hand shot up again.  "Did he take THAT picture?"

"Yes, he took that picture."

Almost unbelievable . . . but true.

Here are a few student recommendations: