The children's picture book, An A-Z of Extraordinary Extinct Creatures, is the combined imaginings of mother and daughter team, Jill Michelle Smith and Jennifer Watson.
The subject of natural history and the awe-inspiring intrigue of dinosaurs had fascinated both Jill and Jennifer as children, and so, they hoped to share this feeling with a new generation of little explorers.
Jennifer, a first-time mum, wanted to produce characters which would appeal to her little boy and his little cousin. She hoped that engaging illustrations and entertaining information would make a factual topic much more accessible to young readers.
Investigating dinosaurs was great fun and whilst researching the project, Jill and Jennifer came across some weird, wonderful and much lesser-known prehistoric beasts and as a result, An A-Z of Extraordinary Extinct Creatures started to take shape.
Jill created the unique artwork in her colourful, child-friendly style, whilst Jennifer provided the graphics expertise. Together they wrote the short, amusing rhymes to describe each fantastic creature.
“This has been a lovely chance to fulfil an ambition to collaborate with Mum and work together as a team, combining our skills and experience. Like many other mums, I want to help make the world a better place for the next generation and both of us feel very strongly about environmentally friendly products, so our new book and all our merchandising are always as ethically produced as possible.”
- Jennifer Watson, co-author of An A-Z of Extraordinary Extinct Creatures
The finished book is produced by Barnwell Print Ltd and is printed on 100% sustainable, Carbon Balanced paper in association with World Land Trust.
Watch the production in progress:
Discover twenty-six extraordinary extinct dinosaurs,
birds, reptiles and mammals, brought to life through
vibrant illustrations and amusing rhymes.