Combining art and science to create books about nature

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As a child, Steve Jenkins always dreamed of being a scientist. After all, his father was a physics professor and astronomer, and Jenkins himself spent much of his childhood immersed in the natural world, making notes and drawings of his discoveries.When Jenkins, 56, entered North Carolina State University in Raleigh, N.C., however, he decided to switch his major from science to art."There's a lot of science and engineering there, but they also have a design school," Jenkins said in a recent interview during a Washington book-tour stop. "Looking at the two groups of students, it seemed like the design students were having a lot more fun!"It turned out to be a fortuitous move, in more ways than one. By majoring in design, Jenkins not only got a new career path in graphic design, but he also met Robin Page, another NCS design student who would become his wife.Years later, Jenkins has forged yet another career, combining art and science. Working both alone and with his wife, Jenkins has carved out a unique niche in the world of children's books, creating award-winning nonfiction books that blend beautiful graphic design with interesting information about the natural world. The books are both entertaining and educational, and are popular with both kids and adults.Jenkins and Page's newest book is "How Many Ways Can You Catch a Fly?" (Houghton Mifflin, $16, ages 4-8), which details the many ways that animals attempt to survive. In the brief introduction, the authors note that even as animals search for food, "most have to avoid being eaten themselves."In the section titled "How many ways can you snare a fish?," for example, young readers will learn that diving beetles seize fish underwater using their legs, while salmon swimming upstream to lay their eggs are prey for grizzly bears, who stand in the rapids and grab the fish as they leap from the water.As for the flies featured in the book's title, Jenkins and Page note that a Jackson's chameleon, with its long, sticky tongue, "can snap up a fly in less time than it takes you to blink." Meanwhile, an assassin bug stalks flies and then spears them with its sharp "beak."But the book isn't just a collection of fascinating facts. Jenkins' attention-grabbing collage illustrations, colorful and full of texture, make this book a treat for the eyes. Look particularly for Jenkins' illustration of a hole being dug by an animal -- it seems to be happening before the readers' eyes.His larger-than-life illustration of a fly, meanwhile, will give readers shudders, even as they marvel at the details Jenkins shows of the insect's wings and body. Other illustrations introduce readers to a range of little-known animals, from a tailorbird that sews a leaf into a pouch for her eggs to a burrowing parrot that uses its beak to dig nesting holes in cliffs."How Many Ways Can You Catch a Fly?," like most of Jenkins and Page's books, can be read on several levels. For the youngest children, parents can focus on the basic text and the illustrations, while older readers might be quite interested in learning more from the additional information about each animal provided at the back of the book.Jenkins and Page don't always collaborate on books. Sometimes, Jenkins works alone as he did on "Actual Size," "Dogs and Cats" and "Living Color," while Page focuses on the graphic-design studio they run in Boulder, Colo.But the two say they really enjoy working together on children's books, and their collaboration has yielded such titles as "Move!," "Sisters & Brothers" and "What Do You Do With a Tail Like This?," which won a 2004 Caldecott Honor.Many of their books are sparked by questions asked by their three children.Jenkins' book, "Biggest, Strongest, Fastest," for instance, was spurred by son Alex, now 20, who was intrigued by animal "superlatives." Ten-year-old son Jamie is a "budding naturalist," and his interest persuaded his parents to create "Move!"And when the couple's now-22-year-old daughter, Page, was little, she and her dad took a plane trip. Page thought the houses and cars she saw below were actually as tiny as they looked, inspiring Jenkins to write "Looking Down."While Jenkins and Page continue their work as graphic designers, an increasing share of their time is now given over to creating children's books. Upcoming projects include a series of books for younger readers on simple themes like eating and sleeping, as well as a book for their core audience of kids ages 4-8 on symbiosis.(Karen MacPherson, the children's/teen librarian at the Takoma Park, Md., Library, can be reached at Kam.Macpherson(at)gmail.com. For more stories visit scrippsnews.com)