New book: Botanical Almanac
Posted by Huw,
This week Chronicle Books' latest LEGO title, Botanical Almanac: A Field Guide to Brick-Built Blooms, will be published in the UK.
We've been sent a copy of the 112-page hardback book to put under the magnifying glass prior to its release.
The first thing you notice as you flick through it are the beautiful and stunning illustrations of flowers included in the botanical sets, in the style Victorian-era scientific drawings of flora. They were hand-drawn by Nina Pace, an American illustrator who has a lot of floral designs on her Instagram. It sounds like she had a lot of fun working on this commission!
Alongside each one is information about both the real plant and also the LEGO version, in particular pointing out unusual element usage.
Interspersed with these pages are interviews with the designers of some of the LEGO botanical sets, Milan Madge, Nico Vas, Anderson Grubb, Astrid Christensen and Mike Psiaki. Bird of Paradise and dried flower designer Chris McVeigh is conspicuous by his absence! They are quite revealing, covering subjects such as how they became LEGO designers, how they set about designing the flowers, the challenges they faced, and so on.
There's also a list of the botanical collection sets at the back which, unfortunately, is incomplete (40588 Flowerpot is missing), out of date (perhaps understandably, this year's sets are not in it) and includes some dubious entries, such as 40573 Christmas Tree and 40648 Money Tree which I think most would agree are not 'proper' botanical sets. This is just a minor annoyance, though, which does not detract from the rest of the book.
The book also comes with a 7" x 5" 'collectable botanical print' which might look nice framed.
It's a shame there is nothing really new or in-depth in it, such as instructions or inspiration for building new blooms. Nevertheless, fans of botanical sets, especially casual ones that have been introduced to LEGO by them will, I am sure, find much to like here. I think the designer interviews will also broaden its appeal to those with an interest in that sort of thing.
It's already out in the USA and will be published in the UK and elsewhere on the 28th March.
It's available at Amazon: Amazon.co.uk (£13.79) | Amazon.com ($23.72) | Amazon.ca ($29.99) | Amazon.com.au ($22.49) and, if you're in the USA, directly from Chronicle Books.
Thanks to Chronicle for sending us a copy for this article. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
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13 comments on this article
I gifted the book to my wife. She loves it!
Great gift for the Lego Botanical fan that wants to dive deeper. Those pictures must show great building techniques!
@Phoenixio said:
"Great gift for the Lego Botanical fan that wants to dive deeper. Those pictures must show great building techniques!"
To be honest the content, apart from the interviews, is fairly lightweight and the pictures don't reveal amything that's not in the instructions but it's all beautfully presented.
Nice looking book.
And for once, nice looking price!
Most of these hardcover books, like the Classic Space one recently released, or the official ones from LEGO such as the Ferrari Daytona hardcover book, are VERY pricey!
I won’t be buying it myself, but I can appreciate it and see the appeal.
Those illustrations are lovely.
Honestly, this book seems pretty pointless...
@BelgianBricker said:
"Honestly, this book seems pretty pointless..."
I can see that. But my wife, who is not into Lego, but is very much into gardening, appreciates it as kind of a way to be involved in my hobby
Missing and incorrect sets being included I'd say does detract if the book already doesn't have much substance. Not like the book has designs of flowers that are upcoming or those they have no intention to actually produce that people can then go ahead themselves and make. Sounds like a glorified lego catalogue
It looks a lovely book and I'm sure Lego fans will find the few interviews interesting.... but whats the point?
Theres plenty of designer interviews online - alot here for a start. Once you've read one would you need to go back to a book to refer to it???
The pictures are pretty but dont show building techniques. Don't think anyone would need to look up the individual flowers unlike a minifigure guide.
No new sets or flowers!!! If it showed how to make your own or other types of flowers you could add to the current range or even new ways to display original sets then that would be great. If it had a how to build section like the Lego micro city books then it would be great. Being called an almanac I would expect a wide range of flowers in it not just those in Lego sets.
I'd flick though the book in the store for a nosy and I like the botanical sets but I wouldn't buy it, I'd rather buy some of the smaller flower sets instead.
Delightful looking book that I've had on pre-order for months. Had forgotten it was nearly due!
I will get it if it features flower models that have not already been made into official sets. If this is just a book detailing the already released sets it seems a bit pointless.
This seems like a great coffee table book.
People forget the value of books is having all the information available in one place and not waiting for internet loading pages. I get that it's barely an issue nowadays, but books are also great for starting real-world conversations.
That's why I like the DK set & Minifigure character books.
The idea of hand drawn illustrations, in classic botanical style, of flowers constructed from pieces of Lego is so charming, and the drawings themselves are delightful! Sadly, it sounds like the rest of the book doesn't really justify the cost. If it were a paperback or available on Kindle, I would probably buy it, but not as a hardback. Too bad....