I’ve never read a sensagoria before. Actually, I’ve never even heard of one and although my dictionary can’t define it for me, I think I like it. David Bouchard’s newest book of poems, Voices from the Wild, is an enjoyable marriage between language, natural history, and Ron Parker’s outstanding wildlife paintings. Twenty-five international species are featured, each for its special ability to sense its environment. The book is divided into the five senses: sight, smell, touch, hearing, and taste. For each sense, five animals expound on their mastery of it. The tone of each poem is at once proud, boastful, and a bit cheeky. The animals are given a voice to impress upon the wildlife painter – Ron Parker, one of North America’s best – that they are indeed worthy of his talents. The creatures even compare themselves favourably to other animals in the book. Humans are not spared the comparisons, either. At the end of each section is a brief questioning on why our senses appear so inferior. It’s humbling to say the least.

The words flow easily and lend themselves nicely to reading aloud. The author, a school principal in West Vancouver, seems more intent on leaving an impression of greatness rather than getting too technical in the verses about each sense and how it works. Although the book will not suffice as a research tool, it may inspire readers to find out more detail about particular species. The last five pages of the book offer thumbnails of each of the featured creatures, along with a paragraph of more general information on where they live, their conservation status, and other details on related species.

Whether a child is a poetry lover or not, Ron Parker’s paintings are sure to attract many potential readers. This is a book that will span the age range of students and households and will be flipped through again and again if it is left in sight. In fact, displaying it will help avoid the problem of how to categorize it – it’s poetry, art, and nature all at the same time. It’s also so tall that it’s a difficult size for most book shelves, so why not leave it out? The book is beautifully produced and is worthy of the best coffee table.