Walt Disney's Worlds Of Nature

   While sifting through a really blah estate sale in North Jersey a few weeks ago I stumbled on a really phenomenal old Disney nature book.  Normally I avoid rummaging through books in general, as we have way too many as it is, but this particular estate sale was actually organized by category, which is pretty rare.  In the children's book section I found a few interesting Disney publications, but this is the only one that I wasn't previously familiar with.

   The cover is straight out of a Wes Anderson film, and I'm basically obsessed with it.  I want to keep this on my coffee table forever.  The "pattern" on the cover is actually a small illustration of Snow White and her dwarves.  Was this a common thing with these ambiguously Disney  books?  The chartreuse couldn't be more perfect.

   I always love the choice of inside cover illustrations. This one is seriously trippy. Featuring "echoed silhouettes" of some famous Disney characters including Snow White, Mary Poppins (which had just come out at the time of publication...) and Bongo the circus bear.

   The contents of the book are actually rather extensive, especially considering the age group that this is geared toward.  Categorized mostly by region of the world, the text takes kids on a journey of each regions fauna.  Obviously the focus is on the "cute" animals, but also features more obscure animals...including quite a few insects, reptiles, and birds. 

   This is the kind of book that you hold onto, in hopes of handing them down to your own kids.  I'm super glad that I can add this to my growing collection of vintage Disney books.  It so accurately depicts the wonderful nature trope that Disney was busy developing at the time, adding to the rich history of the genre, and its relationship to Disney parks in general.