Cabinet of Curiosities: Collecting and Understanding the Wonders of the Natural World Hardcover – October 6, 2015

I purchased this as an inexpensive e-book, figuring that my 8-year-old son might get 2 dollars' worth of interest out of it. As I looked at the e-version, I found it so well-written, nicely photographed, and accessible without being patronizing in tone, that I am going to buy a hard copy to give as a Christmas gift instead, along with a promise to go flea-market hunting for a starter cabinet. It's very inviting and has just enough scientific information to spur further research, along with very helpful tips about how to keep your found treasures from smelling up your collection and reminders to warn your family members about your specimens sharing freezer space with the ice cream. Perfect for encouraging independent rambles outside and close observation of the natural world.

This is an amazing book, all of the kudos to the author. I am making a cabinet of curiosities for my 7/8 science classroom, and am using this book as a guide not only for me but to teach my students how to create their own cabinets. Great details and imagery, and I love that it tells you how and where to find certain artifacts. I wish I could buy one for each of my students!

A book all about curiosity cabinets, what they are, how to make your own and what to put in them. All ages will find this book interesting and helpful.Having read this book, I am now going to find the things I have collected over the years and make a curiosity cabinet with them and I will be adding to it.

My 6 year old is an advanced reader and an avid learner, and he loves the format of this book. He can learn about whatever natural topic he chooses, a few pages or paragraphs at a time. The content touches on subjects in brief, so he doesn't have time to get bored, but also somewhat in depth. If you have a budding young scientist this seems like a good introduction. It isn't a true scientific textbook or a stuffy reference book, but the age range this seems to be geared towards (maybe elementary school age) would be very bored with a standard textbook about this stuff, imo. If my son has any other questions about what he's reading about, I look up the answers on a reference site and we talk about it.Example from the book, to give a hint about style : "An alligator's skull has one simple kind of teeth. These teeth can't do any of the special jobs mammal teeth can. They can't take a bite out of an apple, like a person can. They can't shear off a big chunk of flesh, like a carnivoran can. They can't grind down plants, like a cow does. You might expect an alligator to have sharp teeth, but it doesn't. Its teeth are sharp enough to hold on to prey, but not nearly as sharp as a fox's or skunk's. They're more like blunt cones. Where to find : American alligators can be found in swamps, lakes, and rivers all along the southeastern US, and west to the southern tip of Texas".

This books looks brand new, great condition!

Was looking for a little more pictures and beautiful scientific illustrations than actual written information or history, but overall a beautiful book. I was a little bummed that it just touches BRIEFLY on a LOT of different things but not really in depth on anything other than categorization of a natural science library or cabinet.

This book is full of all kinds of useful information. Lots of great pictures. Lots of historical information. Plus instructions and hints on finding, collecting, and making your own collection of almost anything. This would be a great gift for a young person interested in nature.

This isn't what I was expecting. I thought this book was going to be on how to create your own cabinet of curiosities. It does have a few things on how to preserve natural specimens and some small exploitation sprinkled throughout the book. Most of it is history and photos of a curiosity cabinet though. It's not a bad book at all, jut not what I though I was buying.

Received in a timely fashion and in good order. Very much enjoyed the book.

Libro carino, adatto ai bambini/ragazzi

MUY AMENO Y LIBRO INTRODUCTORIO, GENERAL Y BUENAS ILUSTRACIONES

Possibly the most beautiful book I own! This book is filled with beautiful illustrations and photos, packed with interesting information about the classification of living organisms and how to preserve specimens. My 7 year-old son loves it, and so do I. A truly timeless book for people of any age. Highly recommend

Abbastanza interessante, semplice e basilare per quanto riguarda le nozioni di tassonomia. Un buon libro tutto sommato.