Radiant: Farm Animals Up Close and Personal by Traer Scott is a combination of photography and animal memoirs. Gregarious or shy, curious or placid, playful or retiring, all the animals in Traer Scott's newest collection have one thing in common: a sparkling personality! This whimsical, soulful, and personal photo collection focuses on the lives of the farm animals we often take for granted. Scott introduces us to barnyard animals both familiar and lesser known, from cows, pigs, sheep, and chickens to Dolly the woolly llama, Bianca the Sicilian miniature donkey, Percy the Indian peafowl, and Justice the yak. Some of the animals are kept as pets; others are denizens of farm sanctuaries that Scott has visited. She shares her anecdotes about a Texas longhorn steer whose best friends are a trio of goats, a turkey who likes to snack on grapes and watermelon, and many others. Lively captions provide information on each breed, to round out this enchanting tribute to our four-legged (and winged) friends from the farm.
Radiant: Farm Animals Up Close and Personal is a wonderful look at the personalities and lives of various animals that have found their way to animal sanctuaries and loving homes. Some have lived through horrible situations, abuse, or health complications while others have known nothing but loving care. The variety of animals, and their stories, made this book perfect for reading as a whole, or four browsing through to find a specific animal or story that really captures the heart or attention in the moment. I enjoyed reading about the happy endings some of the abused animals found, and the work that people are doing to save animals in need and to preserve and protect species that are on the decline. I have already been working to reduce my carbon footprint and the affect my lifestyle has on the world and animals we share it with. However, while this book does not chide people for their choices, it does encourage them to be more thoughtful and aware of how their choices can have an impact, and that small changes can help. Small changes add up, and I am planning on continuing to make some of those small changes to continue decreasing the negative impact I make, and to increase the positive.
I really like that there is a list of the animal sanctuaries and related organizations at the end of the book. I encourage readers to look through that list and find one reasonable close to you, or doing work that means something to you, and follow up on the contact information given to see how you might be able to help. Not all of us can give monetarily, or help muck stalls or whatever. However I bet there is some way we can all support these organizations and help their work- such as organizing field trips, fundraisers, or simply just helping to spread the word about what their biggest need might be at the moment.
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