More books for Nature Exploration

Last week I featured a couple books for curious young naturalists. This week I've got two more.

theme: plants, animals, observation

Nature Spy Guide 

Words & photos by Shelley Rotner 

32 pages; ages 4-8

 Millbrook Press, 2024

Anyone can be a nature SPY. Here’s how. First you have to GO OUTSIDE.

Because, being a nature spy means you’ve got to see, smell, touch, and hear things close-up and in-person. In this book, Shelley Rotner asks readers to look up, look down, look all around. To breathe in the air and smell the flowers. Look closer, she says. Use your ears.

What I like about this book: Shelley uses simple text and photos of kids in nature to introduce basic observation skills. She reminds nature spies to use all their senses, to observe things both near and far, and most of all, to not give up – because some animals like to hide. I like the back matter, too. She includes a simple plant and animal identification list for things most kids in North America might see. And – even more important for parents looking for ways to incorporate nature spying into daily life – she provides a dozen activities. My fave is “deer ears” with cloud-watching coming in a fast second.

Backyard Bugs (Shine-A-Light) 

by Carron Brown; illustrated by Wesley Robins 

36 pages; ages 4-8

Kane/Miller Book Publishers, 2023    

Did you know you can find amazing animals close to home? Just step outside…

Yay! another book that invites children to head outdoors to discover nature around them. In this case, bugs. From lady bugs to painted ladies, dragonflies to fireflies, this book celebrates arthropods – and a couple of their non-arthropod neighbors.

Beyond the Books: Go outside this week and be a Nature SPY! 

• Look. Listen. Touch. Smell. 
• Draw pictures of what you see. 
• Write notes in your Official Nature Spy Notebook. (If you don’t have an ONSN, they you can make one by folding paper and stapling or sewing it into a notebook.)
• Watch clouds. 
• Watch squirrel antics. 
• Follow ant and snail trails. 
• Smell the roses. 
• Feel the shade on your face. 
• Listen to what the birds and bugs are saying. 
• Use your imagination. 
• And have fun spying on the critters living around you.

We’ll join Perfect Picture Book Friday once they resume. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.