Ever wondered what goes into making an epic 400 paged encyclopedia?
We asked the team behind Eyewitness Encyclopedia of Everything to give us a glimpse into how an encyclopedia is made, from how many people work on the book to sourcing the perfect images. Find out below!
We asked the team behind Eyewitness Encyclopedia of Everything to give us a glimpse into how an encyclopedia is made, from how many people work on the book to sourcing the perfect images. Find out below!
Eyewitness Encyclopedia of Everything
View Book1. First up – how we even start to plan a book with so much information in it?
Jenny Sich, Senior Editor: We created a survey to ask our readers – via their parents – what their favourite topics are and what they most want to see in an encyclopedia. Dinosaurs and animals were the hottest topics, and they also told us that they want plenty of fun facts and lots of amazing images.
We also asked if they had any questions for our experts and we had some amazing replies! Some were very specific like, "Why are sweet potato fries a bit soggy?" or "How do guinea pigs work?" And on the other end of the scale we had some more awe-inspiring questions like "How big is space" and "Are paleontologists still discovering new dinosaurs?".
We also asked if they had any questions for our experts and we had some amazing replies! Some were very specific like, "Why are sweet potato fries a bit soggy?" or "How do guinea pigs work?" And on the other end of the scale we had some more awe-inspiring questions like "How big is space" and "Are paleontologists still discovering new dinosaurs?".
2. The next thing you might not know is just how many people it takes to create an encyclopedia.
Rachael Grady, Senior Designer: It took a creative team of more than 30 editors and designers to make this book. On top of that we had 18 specialist consultants as well as our 16 "ask an experts".
Jenny: Tracking down the experts wasn’t always easy as many of them were out doing fieldwork - our cheetah conservationist was tagging wild animals in Tanzania and Kenya, our marine biologist was swimming with whale sharks at Ningaloo reef off Western Australia, and our paleontologist was off digging for dinosaurs in the deserts of Niger.
Jenny: Tracking down the experts wasn’t always easy as many of them were out doing fieldwork - our cheetah conservationist was tagging wild animals in Tanzania and Kenya, our marine biologist was swimming with whale sharks at Ningaloo reef off Western Australia, and our paleontologist was off digging for dinosaurs in the deserts of Niger.
3. Once we had done our research and consulted with our experts, we brought each topic to life with the most incredible images.
Rachael: There are more than 2,000 pictures in the book and we tried to make each one as exciting as possible! They are bright, fun, and attention grabbing but always tell you something important about the topic. We spent hours sourcing images from world-class photographers, as well as taking some of our own. We created illustrations to explain any tricky topics and bright punchy graphics to go alongside the fun facts. The team then pulled everything together into one incredible book – and we really hope you like it!
Eyewitness Encyclopedia of Everything
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Eyewitness Encyclopedia of Everything is out now and is the ultimate guide to the world around you. Packed with thousands of mind-blowing facts, breathtaking photography, 'Ologist interviews, pictorial quizzes and much more! Discover more about the book here or take our ultimate Eyewitness Encyclopedia of Everything quiz here.