Inspired by archaeology, lost civilizations, and the art of illustration, James Gurney’s children’s book Dinotopia creates an extraordinary place where humans and dinosaurs live in harmony. “The thing I love about dinosaurs is that they are on that balance between fantasy and reality,” says Gurney. “It might be hard to believe that mermaids and dragons existed, but we know that dinosaurs did—we can see their footprints and skeletons. However, we can’t photograph them or see them, except in our imagination.” The Dinotopia storyline chronicles the adventures and remarkable experiences of Professor Arthur Denison and his son Will on Dinotopia. They explore a mysterious “lost” island inhabited by dinosaurs and shipwrecked travellers.
Source: “Dinotopia”: The Fantastical Art Of James Gurney
Dinotopia, A Land Apart from Time: 20th Anniversary Edition
Hardcover – Illustrated, 1 September 2017
By James Gurney
When James Gurney’s Dinotopia: A Land Apart from Time first appeared in 1992, it was immediately hailed as a fully imagined world of the calibre of J. R. R. Tolkien’s. Gurney’s premise is of an undiscovered island where a race of mystical humans coexists in harmony with intelligent dinosaurs. This concept has since been reiterated in numerous films and by scores of other writers.
Calla Editions brings Gurney’s spectacular artistry to a new generation in this 20th-anniversary edition. Digitally re-rendered from the original transparencies, Gurney’s dramatic panoramas of Dinotopia and close-up character studies of its human and saurian inhabitants take on new vitality. As a tale of high adventure and discovery told as entries and sketches in journal form, Dinotopia presents a shipwrecked visitor’s glimpse into an imagined social order, a culture, and even a cooperative interspecies technology. This will satisfy all persuasions of fantasy and science fiction lovers.
This edition includes a new Afterword written by author James Gurney and a special section of behind-the-scenes studies and maquettes he used to develop his paintings. AGES: 12 and up AUTHOR: Before writing and illustrating Dinotopia, James Gurney painted reconstructions of ancient civilizations for National Geographic magazine. He has illustrated seventeen stamps for the U.S. Postal Service, including The World of Dinosaurs. His Dinotopia artwork has won the Hugo, Chesley, Spectrum, and World Fantasy Awards. His work has been exhibited at the Smithsonian Institution and the Norman Rockwell.
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I love it! 🙂
It is terrific, I agree.