World of Wonders

Description

World of Wonders
by Aimee Nezhukumatathil

ISBN: 9781639550562
Softcover, new

Brief Description:
“Hands-down one of the most beautiful books of the year.” –NPR From
beloved, award-winning poet Aimee Nezhukumatathil comes a debut work of
nonfiction–a collection of essays about the natural world, and the way its
inhabitants can teach, support, and inspire us. As a child, Nezhukumatathil
called many places home: the grounds of a Kansas mental institution, where
her Filipina mother was a doctor; the open skies and tall mountains of
Arizona, where she hiked with her Indian father; and the chillier climes of
western New York and Ohio. But no matter where she was transplanted–no
matter how awkward the fit or forbidding the landscape–she was able to
turn to our world’s fierce and funny creatures for guidance. “What the
peacock can do,” she tells us, “is remind you of a home you will run away
from and run back to all your life.” The axolotl teaches us to smile, even
in the face of unkindness; the touch-me-not plant shows us how to shake off
unwanted advances; the narwhal demonstrates how to survive in hostile
environments. Even in the strange and the unlovely, Nezhukumatathil finds
beauty and kinship. For it is this way with wonder: it requires that we are
curious enough to look past the distractions in order to fully appreciate
the world’s gifts. Warm, lyrical, and gorgeously illustrated by Fumi
Nakamura, World of Wonders is a book of sustenance and joy.