Pocket Observology by Giselle Clarkson
Giselle Clarkson makes science and nature exciting – and exploration fun. Her latest field guide is ideal for identifying what’s scuttling or flying overhead, what’s buzzing around or popping up in the garden, and what kind of rock has been found.
Clarkson worked with publisher Gecko Press to ensure Pocket Observology has everything a young explorer needs – including a weatherproof cover, a built-in ruler, and even a racetrack for snails.
It’s a smaller companion to two of Clarkson’s other books: The Observologist and Omnibird. While much of the content is new, some material has been adapted from these earlier, award-winning books.
Observologists, explains Clarkson, gaze purposefully, are insatiably curious – and patient too – and keep themselves safe.
Don’t probe under rocks and logs with your fingers, don’t handle critters that could bite or sting, don’t lick things you shouldn’t, and always wash your paws after any hands-on investigation.
Clarkson says that observologists are courageous, confident, and respectful of all living things.
There’s no need to be afraid of animals that scuttle and buzz. Once you learn which critters are harmless and which ones bite or sting, you’ll know how to behave around them.
The book is divided into colour-coded sections. The opening chapter suggests how and when to use the guide and reveals several locations where interesting life forms are waiting to be discovered. There are separate sections on invertebrates (animals without a spine, such as spiders and flies), birds, plants and fungi – ‘plus a special mention for rocks’. A How To section at the end of the book includes ideas for safely rescuing or relocating creatures that have ended up in places where they don’t belong.
Clarkson skilfully combines gentle humour with insights and facts. She introduces taxonomic terms, such as Lepidoptera, and the names of different parts of birds and insects. Moths and butterflies, for example, have a proboscis – a long, flexible mouthpart used like a drinking straw for ‘slurping nectar’.
She’s matter-of-fact about topics such as mould growing on dog vomit, rotting plants, and limbless invertebrates.
Invertebrates lose legs all the time. Some hatched that way, others had them chomped off.
Wairarapa-based Clarkson is the author as well as the illustrator. Her distinctive images show how to tell the difference between a bee and a wasp, what various flies look like as larvae and as adults, how to figure out which birds have been nearby from their footprints, and even what can be learned from a little pile of poo. For bird-egg detectives, there’s a fabulous flow-chart for identifying eggs by their size, colour, and patterns.
Clarkson’s quirky drawings of people are delightful too. Look out for the dripping wet bare-bottomed figure gently releasing a moth into the wild.
Hopefully the moth will fly away, but if it doesn’t, that’s okay—you tried your best.
The Table of Contents is helpful, although not all pages are numbered. While there’s no index at the back of the book, the colour-coding and page labels along the right-hand margin also make it easy to find what you’re looking for.
Packed with all sorts of interesting information, this is a terrific book for children and young people – although observologists of any age will learn something new.
Reviewer: Anne Kerslake Hendricks
Gecko Press
