These Spiders Served Their Country

 

The Spider Lady: Nan Songer and Her Arachnid World War II Army    

by Penny Parker Klostermann; illus. by Anne Lambelet 

48 pages; ages 7-10

Calkins Creek, 2025 

This book had me with the title: The Spider Lady. I mean… who wouldn’t want to know more? Especially with the subtitle mentioning an “arachnid WWII army.” 

Like other entomologists, Nan Songer loved nature. In her case, it was butterflies and moths, beetles and caterpillars – even spiders. She loved learning about them, but didn’t love the idea of killing them and mounting them in collection boxes. Instead, Nan wanted to watch them move about, and she wrote down notes about what she discovered.

Her living insect collection grew, and soon she had jars of bugs all over her house. One day a friend told her that he had used spider’s silk to replace the crosshairs in his surveying scope. And that got Nan wondering… could she harvest spider silk and sell it?

Penny Parker Klostermann takes us right into Nan’s lab – ok, it was probably her dining room – where Nan is experimenting with different ways to collect silk. Nan has lots of questions: Which spiders produce the most silk? What size of silk is best? And most importantly, what’s the best way to raise spiders in captivity? Because some of them would definitely eat their roommates!

These were important questions, because World War II had broken out and the US needed silk for crosshairs in gunsights, periscopes, and range finders. And Nan wanted to furnish that silk.

We watch as Nan realizes that raising thousands of spiders means feeding them. And they like to eat crickets and flies, grubs and moths… and that means MORE jars of bugs! Her seemingly simple idea – to collect spider silk for crosshairs in scopes – began to grow into a huge project. 

I love how Penny shows Nan thinking through the research she needs to do. How can she test whether noise affects the quality of silk produced? Does the age of a spider affect the thickness of the silk strand? And how could she obtain threads that were thinner or thicker than what a spider spun?  Fortunately, she figured out how and by the time the US entered the war, Nan and her spiders were busy helping the troops. 

You can find out more about Penny and her book by dropping over to the GROG where, last month I hosted the 5th Annual Arthropod Roundtable. 

Thanks for dropping by today. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copy provided by the publishers.

Explore Outdoors ~ Ants on Plants!

 

 I headed out for a walk the other day, thinking I might find bees on some of the wildflowers. I stopped and looked, closer and closer....

 

 

 

... and found an ant meandering up the raceme of almost-open blossoms. Looks like it barely escaped the fangs of a camouflaged flower spider! In all honesty, I didn't even see the spider until I looked at the photo later, on my computer.

 

So why did the ant climb up the cherry tree? Maybe it has a sweet tooth - er, mandible. Leaves of some species of wild cherry have extrafloral nectaries. Perhaps this ant is part of a pest-patrol? 

 

Peonies provide nectar for ants that keep pesky plant-chewing bugs off their flowers and stems - you can find out more here.

 

Look closely this week. 

Do you have ants on your plants? 

 

 

The Big, the Bad, and the Ugly

Fantastic Flora: The World’s Biggest, Baddest, and Smelliest Plants

by Ann McCallum Staats; illus. by Zoë Ingram 

144 pages; ages 8-12

‎ MIT Kids Press, 2025  

When plants face a problem, they can’t get up and move. Rooted to the ground, they have to find nutrition, fend off predators, and survive whatever conditions the environment throws at them. They thrive, writes Ann McCallum Staats, by “using brilliant – and bizarre – adaptations.” Some have thorns, others entice insects through the use of chemical signals.

With that in mind, Ann divides her book into four sections, focusing on The Big, The Bad, The Smelly, and The Exceptionally Strange. You probably know at least one really big plant: the giant sequoia. And you may have seen photos of cars driving through one, or many people holding hands to circle a tree. You may have even heard of the biggest of them all, General Sherman which stretches 275 feet into the sky. But did you know that a sequoia’s roots can stretch more than 150 feet from the base? 

Trees aren’t the only huge plants. There’s a water lily whose leaf is so big that you could use it for a raft!

What makes a plant “bad?” How about those that kill off animals nibbling their berries, roots, and leaves? Or those that, by simply touching their sap, could blind you. Certainly there are plenty more bad actors, and I’m sure we can each think of our “most despicable plant” (my vote goes to cholla cactus).

Then there are the smelly ones… the ginkgo which looks lovely but stinks up a storm! And skunk cabbage, one of the earliest plants to emerge in our snow-covered northeast, but carries a certain perfume. Of all the stinkers, the corpse plant whose name may be the most honest. It really does smell like a rotting carcass, and all for the sake of attracting flies to carry its pollen to another flower.

The plant kingdom is so diverse that you’re bound to find a few oddballs, and Ann shares three. One is a plant that’s turned the tables in a bug-bite-leaf world and dines on insects. Another disguises itself as a stone, and a third is a dainty orchid with flowers that look like flying ducks. Orchids are notorious tricksters, and have co-evolved some intricate partnerships with pollinators.

This is a fun book to read, and I wanted to know more. Ann graciously answered a couple of questions.

Me: How did you come across this idea for presenting a book about plants: the biggest, baddest, smelliest? 

 

Ann: I was staring out my office window one day and noticing the pattern of browns and golds (it was winter so no leaves). I decided to write about plants as a kind of challenge to myself. As a former teacher, I was often given a curriculum that could be boring--it was my job to make it engaging for kids and I enjoyed that task. I had low expectations for plants, but once I started a little research, I was astonished by some of the incredible adaptations plants use to survive. Seriously, some of the plants I showcase have seeds that explode, anti-fish armor, and berries so toxic that eating just a few is fatal. I was hooked. As for the structure of the book--the big, the bad, the smelly, and the exceptionally strange, that took some thought. I knew that the organization scheme was key. It couldn't be chronological or based on who, what, where. When I was brainstorming and finding fun facts, it came to me that this structure would work well for the topic. I wanted to highlight how amazing plants really are, once you ‘dig’ in.

Me: I love the "Be-Leaf it or not" features. How did those develop? Because I notice there are plenty of longer sidebars.

Ann: These recurring features focus on some cool fact that I wanted to include but that didn’t quite fit into the text of the chapter. I guess I'd call them breakout boxes. They provide an extension of the chapter and fun additional factoids. They are a little different from the sidebars which are more scientific in nature or offer a more in-depth explanation of something. The “Be-LEAF it or Not” pullouts ask a question and then share a little, fun tidbit that goes beyond the chapter. I really like the way they designed the book with these breakout boxes highlighted. 

Ann is a member of #STEAMTeam2025. You can find out more about her at her website, annmccallumbooks.com

Thanks for dropping by today. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copy provided by the publishers.

Explore Outdoors ~ Who's hanging out on the dandelions?

 Last week my garden was filled with bright yellow dandelions. My first thought was ... hey! I wonder if any pollinators are visiting them?

 

There were! I spent a bit more than 10 minutes walking around the garden counting the bees, wasps, and flies visiting dandelions.

 

Three tiny coppery bees, two flies, one bumblebee, and 45 wasps. Of those wasps, most (41) were small, not even a centimeter long, and four were paper wasps, like this one from nearly a dozen years ago. Check out that pollen smeared all over her face and thorax!

 

 

This week look for pollinators on the dandelions in your neighborhood.

 

Animals with Jobs

Animals lead busy lives: finding food, building nests, taking care of their families. And some animals have jobs, helping other animals – or even people. Today’s books, released back in February, feature fish that provide cleaning services and conservation dogs.

themes: animals, nature, nonfiction

Don't Eat the Cleaners! Tiny Fish with a Big Job 

by Susan Stockdale 

32 pages; ages 4-8

‎Peachtree, 2025 

Ocean animals never have to take a bath like you do, right? They live in water! But they still become dirty, so they still have to get clean.

Fish don’t use scrub brushes and sponges. Instead, they go to the cleaners – a station where cleaner wrasse and cleaner shrimp hang out, ready to nibble dead skin and parasites of their fishy customers. These cleaner fish also slip between sharp teeth, pulling out bits of food, and nibble algae from sea turtle shells.

What I like about this book: the illustrations are bold and bright, full of patterns that will delight the eye. The text describes how cleaning fish and shrimp advertise their availability, and do their jobs. Susan Stockdale points out that cleaning wrasse may remember up to 100 different “customers”, and notes that sometimes the cleaning stations are so busy that reef animals have to line up like cars at a car wash! Everything works well, as long as the big fish remember the one rule: Don’t eat the cleaners!

Dogs take on many different kinds of jobs, from rescue animals to service animals. Here’s a story about a different career path…

Trouble Dog: From Shelter Dog to Conservation Hero 

by Carol A. Foote; illus. by Larry Day 

48 pages; ages 5-9

‎ Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2025

Tucker never meant to be trouble. He just loved to play.

But all that romping and chasing and chewing and crashing meant a trip back to the animal shelter. Until one day Laura stopped by. “Maybe he’s the right kind of trouble,” she said and took him home. She thought that a dog with lots of energy might just be the perfect sort of partner, so she played “find the smell” games and tug-of-war. And when he was finally ready, Laura took him … snail hunting (for invasive species), beetle detecting, and turtle egg-finding.

What I like about this book: I like the way Carol Foote shows the patience and training that goes into developing the skills a conservation dog needs. I like seeing the conservation cases that Tucker solves. And I like the extensive back matter, where Carol explains how conservation dogs help biologists. There’s also a section about other jobs dogs do, too, as not all dogs have the temperament to work in the field. This is a heartwarming tale for anyone who has wondered what their place in the world is.

After reading about Trouble, I had One Question for Carol: 

Me: When did the idea for this story start germinating in your heart? And when did you know you had to turn it into a book for kids?

Carol and Lily

Carol: Like many people, I had never heard of conservation dogs until I saw one demonstrating its talents at a Wildlife Conservation Expo a few years ago. The dog’s handler, Megan Parker, who later became one of my main sources for the book, was hiding things for the dog, Pepin, to find. She explained how conservation dogs help conservationists by finding rare or invasive plants and animals and the scat of elusive or endangered species. 

But what touched my heart and made me want to write the story was hearing that great conservation dogs are often so exuberant and rambunctious that they’re rejected as pets and abandoned in shelters where they’re marked as “trouble.” Fortunately, conservationists have learned to search shelters for such dogs and put their energy and intensity to work helping wildlife. They give these dogs a second chance at life—a home, love and a purpose they enjoy. I instantly knew I wanted to write that story, and I immediately saw it as a picture book.

Carol Foote is a member of #STEAMTeam2025. You can find out more about her at her website, www.carolafoote.com.

Beyond the Books:

Create a “help wanted” ad or poster for a job that needs to be done. In our house it’s usually a tall stack of dirty dishes that needs washing! What sort of animals might apply for the job? And how would they do the job?

Check out how manta rays get cleaned by cleaner wrasse in this video.

Meet a conservation dog in this video

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

Explore Outdoors ~ Violets and their Kin

 What do you notice about the flowers below? 

  

They look like they might be related, right? And they are! The first one is a violet growing in my yard, and the others are pansies, growing in pots at a nursery. 

Sometimes I think pansies look like giant violets - and they do share the same genus: Viola. They also have five petals, just like violets. But look at the violet petals: it looks like three go in one direction and two in the other. The pansies have four petals going up, and one going down (like the smile on a face). 

I've seen violets in my yard ranging in color from nearly white to pink, magenta, and deep purple. And some of the violets even have little faces, like these pansies do.

Look for violets and pansies growing near you. 

What things do you notice about them?

 

If you Save a Pelican...

Plight of the Pelican: How Science Saved a Species (Books for a Better Earth) 

by Jessica Stremer; illus. by Gordy Wright 

40 pages; ages 5-8

Holiday House, 2025   

theme: birds, endangered species, conservation

 For millions of years, pelicans have flown over Earth, skimming the salty sea breeze…

… then diving down to scoop and gulp the fish in the ocean. But in the 1950’s something started happening. Fewer pelican chicks were born – and pelicans weren’t the only birds with declining birth rates. The problem: thin eggshells caused by bioaccumulation of a pesticide, DDT. This book shows how action by scientists and farmers and just regular folks helped save the pelicans. And the eagles.

What I like about this book: What begins as a lyrical flight of words across a page grows into a call for action. Author Jessica Stremer shows how scientists began questioning the role of – and fate of – DDT as it spread from fields to streams and the ocean, from insects to fish to pelicans. I like how she asks questions on the page – even as laws prohibited the use of certain chemicals, could pelicans be saved? And now, even the list of plants and animals threatened by environmental risks grows, Stremer shows that we know what to do.

Back matter focuses on the history of the environmental movement, the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, and passage of the endangered species act. There’s more information about the pelicans and about how DDT harms birds. And there’s a short – but important – list of ways kids can “be the change.”

After finishing this book, I knew I had to ask Jessica One Question!

Me: How can adults best support their children’s work to make the world a better place for pelicans and other animals?

Jessica: I think one of the best things adults can do to support their kids is to find out what activities most interest them and enable that interest. If they have a child who likes to tinker, maybe they can build some type of wildlife habitat together. If they have a child who likes to explore the outdoors, take a hike somewhere new. Bring a bag for picking up trash and a journal for some quiet time of observation. The more we invite children to be part of the natural world, the more they'll feel a sense of duty to care for it.

Thank you, Jessica! Jessica is a member of #STEAMTeam2025. She’s talked about her books a couple of times here on the blog: Great Carrier Reef and Fire Escape . You can find out more about her at her website, www.jessicastremer.com

Beyond the Books:

Make a pelican – or an entire flock of them – out of paper plates. Here’s how. 

Test how strong eggs are. The dome shape of eggs is what lends them their strength (at least when they’re not affected by DDT). If you’ve got some eggs, a few bottle caps and a pile of books, you can test how strong an egg is. This video shows how. 

Read more about threats to birds and meet some of the birds on the brink of extinction (here’s an article to get you started). What can you do to bring awareness to the need for bird conservation?

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

Explore outdoors ~ No Mowing Yet

 We have not mowed yet ... because the lawn is filled with flowers. And some of those flowers provide pollen for the bees. And because, frankly, we just haven't gotten around to it. Here are a couple shots from my lawn last week. What do you notice?

 Do you have flowers growing in your yard? 

Take a close look - sometimes the flowers are hidden.

• What color are the flowers growing amongst your grass?
• How many petals do they have?
• Are there any bumble bees or other insects visiting them? 
  

Tiny Birds, Long Flight

 

Tiny Tern Takes Flight 

by Donna B. McKinney; illus by Fiona Osbaldstone 

40 pages; ages 4-6

‎Science, Naturally!, 2024 

theme: birds, migration, nonfiction

Arctic terns live in shivering cold lands near the North Pole.

They may be tiny, but they are mighty birds who dive into icy water for food, and scoop out nests on the rocky tundra. They may be small, but they are fierce protectors of their nests and hatchlings. They may look puny, but when summer light fades and seasons change, they take off on the longest migration journey of any bird – flying all the way from the Arctic to the Antarctic. A wonderful story about an ordinary tern making an extraordinary flight.

What I like about this book: Sure, this book is filled with facts, but the language is so lyrical you don’t even notice. As seasons change, “sunlight creeps toward darkness as the Earth turns on its axis…” Air currents carry the terns “higher, further, southward.” Back matter shows details of the tern and their feathers, tells more about migration, and describes how they live in the Arctic and Antarctic. And there's the alliterative title, too!

Beyond the Books:

Arctic terns are migrating, and right now are close to the midpoint in their migration from the Antarctic to the Arctic. You can look at their migration map, and find out more about these tiny terns at All About Birds.

Join a scientific expedition to monitor arctic tern migration via this video

For deeper study of arctic terns, check out this hands-on unit from author and teacher, Jessica Fries Gaither

Fly like a tern. In the book, the terns rise and glide on air currents. They twirl and soar. Can you move like a tern?

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the author.

Explore Outdoors ~ watching flowers bloom

 

A couple weeks ago I was in Boston, watching magnolias bloom. One day they'd be a bud, the next they'd begin to burst open, and when I walked by a couple hours later, they were in full bloom! It's amazing what a couple warm spring days will do...

 

 Sometimes I refer to these Wednesday posts as "nature breaks" - and there's a reason. Getting out in nature, even for just 10 minutes a day, does wonders for your health - at least according to a study out of UMD and Cornell University.

What flowers are you noticing this week?

A bowl full of jellies

 

Jellyfish Scientist: Maude Delap and Her Mesmerizing Medusas 

by Michelle Cusolito; illus. by Ellen Rooney

32 pages; ages 7-10

Charlesbridge, 2025 

theme: biography, nonfiction, jellyfish  

Welcome to the craggy coast of Ireland. The lady rowing her currach into the surf is Maude Delap. She’s a scientist collecting specimens.

And with that introduction, we’re headed out to sea with Maude to collect compass jellyfish. Why? Because no one has ever watched a jellyfish go through a complete lifecycle. So Maude intends to raise one in captivity. Sounds easy: fill a tank with sea water and watch. But the water has to be freshened frequently, and then there’s the issue of feeding the jellies – what do they even eat?

What I like about this book: So much! Starting with the end pages, which show the life cycle of a jellyfish. Then there's the title with marvelous alliteration: mesmerizing medusas. I like the journal headings, like on the first page where it says June 21, 1899 ~ Day 1. And the almost-last page where it says July 8, 1900 ~ Day 383. I love the language of the jellyfish observations: Pump, sway. Pump, sway. I admire Maude’s determination and dedication. And there is back matter! Author Michelle Cusolito includes additional information about jellyfish and Maude Delap, plus an author’s note about how she came to write this book. Illustrator, Ellen Rooney pens her own notes about the research she did to inform her artwork – including a trip to the New England Aquarium in Boston so she could watch (and sketch) jellyfish swimming. 

I had so much fun reading about the jellies that I just had to ask Michelle one question.

Me: How did you come to land on the journal style for your book?

Photo credit: Alison Noyce

Michelle: This book went through many iterations with varied approaches. Landing on the voice and structure took a long time. From April of 2020 until February of 2021, there were no headings like you see in the final book. Then, in February of 2021, I started trying out headings to help emphasize the passage of time. My initial headings were JUNE, THE NEXT DAY, SIX DAYS LATER, NINE AND A HALF MONTHS LATER, etc. They weren’t quite working, but I didn’t have a solution yet.

And then there was a large gap until I was able to get back to the manuscript. I got the news that I’d be going to sea with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. I had to prepare for two weeks of quarantine (in April of 2021—still during Covid) followed by our time on the ship, so all of my attention turned to prepping for the voyage and researching for the book I would write for middle schoolers about the expedition. I was gone for five and a half weeks. When I returned, I needed to actually write that book, so Maude still had to wait.  I didn’t return to Maude’s story until 11 months later, in January of 2022. By then, I had submitted the manuscript for A Window into the Ocean Twilight Zone: Twenty-Four Days of Science at Sea to my editor, so I had time to spend with Maude.

I added the journal style headings on March 4, 2022. I don't recall the exact moment when I thought to add them, but I'm certain my work on A Window into the Ocean Twilight Zone impacted my thinking. That book documents our time at sea and uses the same kind of headings. I’m sure that made the idea click for me.

Here’s something that might be helpful to other writers: Some of my headings in that March 4, 2022 version looked like this:  April 3-4, 1900 (Day XX). I didn’t want to derail my revision process by stopping to calculate the days, so I simply put XX to remind myself to do it later. I use this strategy often when I don’t have an exact number or fact I need, but I don’t want to stop to research or calculate. I know that uses a different part of my brain and getting back to the creative writing brain takes too long.

Thank you, Michelle, for sharing that bit of wisdom for us! Michelle is a member of #STEAMTeam2025. You can find out more about her at her website,  www.michellecusolito.com You’ll find reviews of her other books right here on the blog – just put her name into the search bar on the right.

Beyond the Books:

Find some jellyfish to watch. Ideally, you could watch some at an aquarium, but if you can’t travel to one, check out these videos at National Geographic and the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Illustrator Ellen Rooney says that sketching is a great way to study nature. “Once you draw something, you understand it in a new way…” whether it’s a jellyfish at an aquarium or a bird outside your window. So grab some paper and pencils and do some sketching. 

Make some jellyfish crafts – you’ll find plenty of ideas here, including how to create a jellyfish costume!

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Thanks for dropping by today. On Monday we'll be hanging out at Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with other  bloggers. It's over at Greg Pattridge's blog, Always in the Middle, so hop over to see what other people are reading. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Explore Outdoors ~ Treetop Fungi

 During an early spring storm, a couple of small branches blew down from the oaks lining the driveway. I always enjoy looking at what's growing on them - usually a fun selection of lichens and other fungi that are too high to see. They resemble the sorts of things one might find clinging to driftwood at the ocean's edge. Sometimes the treetop fungi look just as surprised to see me as I am to see them.

Next time the wind blows down branches from a tree, check out what's growing on them!

Stories Start with a Seed

 As a gardener, I’m always looking for new picture books about seeds, gardens, and the gardeners who plant them. 

themes: seeds, science, perseverance

     

Beansprout 

Art and words by Sarah Lynne Reul 

48 pages; ages 4-7

Charlesbridge, 2025 

This book opens with students gathered on a rug as their teacher says, “In this paper bag.. I have one hundred secrets. One hundred tiny surprises. Because this bag contains one hundred … Mystery Seeds!”

Each student chooses a seed to plant. They draw what they think will grow, and water their seed, and watch and wait for something to poke up out of the soil. Everyone’s seed sprouts except for Ben’s. The sprouts grow into seedlings, but not the nothing in Ben’s pot.  And then Ben discovers the bag filled with seeds that weren’t chosen and comes up with a new idea.

What I like about this book: As one who has planted seeds that haven’t germinated, I identify with Ben! I, too, have wondered when something – anything – will sprout. I like how Sarah Lynne Reul shows Ben’s excitement at planting time, his dismay – and then second-guessing his seed’s (and his) worth – and his teacher explaining that “sometimes things don’t grow and we don’t know the reason why.” I love that even as Ben considers never planting another thing, he discovers the bag of leftover seeds teetering on the edge of the teacher’s desk, way too close to the garbage can! I love the back matter: what is a seed? How does a seed know when to grow? What can you do if a seed doesn’t grow? 

And I really, really LOVE the art! Sarah’s illustrations are done in mixed media, with watercolor paints, tissue paper prints, and collage. The edges are cleanly cut, not torn, and give the feel of more than 2-D.  Make sure you spend time with the front AND back end papers!

Not only is March the perfect time to be thinking of seeds to plant, it’s Women’s History Month. And I have the perfect book, which was published last year - today I’m celebrating its One Year Anniversary.

Gifts from Georgia's Garden: How Georgia O'Keeffe Nourished Her Art 

by Lisa Robinson; illus. by Hadley Hooper 

‎40 pages; ages 4-8

Neal Porter Books, 2024  

Georgia painted flowers so lush and large they filled the canvas – petunias, poppies, lilies, and more…

But she was also a gardener who tended her crops using organic methods, planting marigolds to protect her plants from pests. And while she waited for her seeds to sprout, she painted. She raised her food, sewed her clothes, ground grain for bread – and all the while painted the skulls and bones and things she found in nature.

What I like about this book: Lisa Robinson shows that the act of tending her garden and feeding friends inspired Georgia O’Keefe’s art. I like that back matter shares more about Georgia O’Keefe and some of the basic concepts of sustainable gardening: conserving water, companion planting, attracting beneficial insects, and composting. There’s also a recipe to try.

Beyond the Books:

Plant some seeds. Think about things you like: beans, flowers, carrots … maybe a pumpkin? Before you plant your seed, take a good look at it and write down some of the things you notice. 

Watch your plants grow! Draw pictures of what you see as your plant grows. What do the leaves look like? How tall does it grow? When does it begin to flower? Do any insects hang out on your plant, eat the leaves, or gather pollen from the flower? NOTE: if you don’t plant any seeds, or if your seeds don’t grow, you can “adopt” a plant you find already growing – maybe in a neighborhood garden or park.

my attempt at a poppy!

Paint a flower ~ or make a collage of a flower in the style of  Georgia O’Keefe. She painted her flowers large, so viewers could really see the details. Look into the center of the flower and think: how can I show this using paint or paper? Or both? Then make art!

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

Explore Outdoors ~ a point of view

 

 What do you notice

when you get eye-to-leaf

with a plant growing 

from the ground 

up?

 

 

When a Tree Falls....

 

When a Tree Falls: Nurse Logs and Their Incredible Forest Power 

by Kirsten Pendreigh; illus. by Elke Boschinger 

44 pages; ages 6-9

Chronicle Books, 2025

theme: trees, ecology, nonfiction

A tall tree suns and sways. She is a place to grow, to rest, to shelter.

Over time and seasons we see what animals nest on the boughs, chip into the bark and, after the tree crashes to the forest floor, hide beneath the fallen trunk. Using lyrical language, Kirsten Pendreigh shows readers how the fallen tree nurtures new life.

What I like about this book:

The language is beautiful and spare – just enough words to convey meaning without cluttering up the page. This leaves lots of room for the beautiful illustrations by Elke Boschinger. I love how she tucks fungi along the edge of the tree, and the details of the mosses growing on the trunk – these are the same things I find on fallen trunks in the woods behind my house.

I like the arc of the story, which spans many years over which children grow into adults with their own children, who they bring into the forest to admire the trees. And I really like that Kirsten includes back matter that explains what nurse logs are, how they nurture new life, and how they keep the forest healthy. 

Kirsten graciously answered a Couple Questions: 

Me: When did you know you had to write this story about Doug fir and hemlock?

photo by Carrie Marshall

Kirsten: I've been fascinated by nurse logs since I first moved to the West Coast 30 years ago. Trees growing out of other trees! I felt there was something profound happening, and noticed how kids gravitated to these tree nurseries. About six years ago, while hiking the trails near my home, a refrain came into my head and became kind of an incantation. "A tall tree suns and sways...she is a place to grow, to rest, to shelter." The words kept building and became a life cycle story I was excited to write, and share with little ones.

Me: I love that you say in back matter that all species are connected and we all need to help one another. Did this guide your writing of this book?

Kirsten: I'm not sure it guided the writing but it was just organically there all along. I didn't know when I started writing that Douglas firs themselves typically don't grow out of nurse logs even though nurse logs in this part of the world are typically fallen Douglas firs! Western hemlocks are the most common species to grow out of Douglas fir nurse logs, so right there is a clear example of a deep connection. I learned that nurse logs help salmon survive, when they fall across streams they create sheltered pools for young salmon to grow. We are starting to understand how crucial it is to have diversity in the forest; how webs of life depend on a variety of species, how single species stands of trees are not as resilient as diverse forests. The more you look, the more you see these interconnections in nature. There is such strength in diversity. I hope it's an understanding people can take beyond the forest.

Beyond the Books:

Observe a tree. Describe what does it look like from far away. Now get under it and look up. How would you describe it? Draw a picture or take photos of your tree from different points of view. 

Examine a fallen log. What do you notice growing on the trunk? What about beneath it? Can you tell what kind of tree it is and how old it is? Are there any baby trees growing on it?

Stand tall like a tree. Here’s a video showing a kid-friendly yoga “tree pose.” Can you feel yourself rooting into the earth?

Kirsten is a member of #STEAMTeam2025. You can find out more about her at her website, www.kirstenpendreigh.com

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publishers.

Explore Outdoors ~ look up!

 

 

 

What do you see 

when you look up into the trees?

What trees and shrubs

are breaking into bloom?

 

Spring is a Season for Hatching!

themes: Animals, nature, growing up, eggs

Watching and Waiting: What Hatches from Nature's Nurseries

By Sara Levine

32 pages; ages 4-8

Millbrook Press, 2025  

When you find something interesting and beautiful 

… what should you do? Should you poke it and prod it? Open it up to see what’s inside? Granted, that is the way curious naturalists discover things. But if you open things up, then what’s inside won’t grow anymore, says Sara Levine. So maybe you could wait?

What I like about this book: Using gentle, lyrical language, Sara ponders how one might observe nature without harming it. In particular, she offers strategies for watching how eggs develop and waiting to see what hatches out. She draws examples from birds, insects, amphibians, and reptiles. Back matter discusses what eggs are, egg cases and galls, and how to be an “observational scientist” – something anyone can do. The photos are gorgeous and will have children looking closer to study the details.

Sara is a member of #STEAMTeam2025. You can find out more about her at her website, www.saralevinebooks.com She's also a guest author joining me at the 5th Annual Arthropod Roundtable over on the GROG Blog on April 16. 

Butterflies come from eggs. But what happens when they grow up?

When a Butterfly Goes to School (Board Book)

by Laura Purdie Salas; illus. by Chloe Niclas 

7 spreads

‎Creative Editions, 2025

What does a butterfly do at school all day? From art class to science, story time to lunchtime we follow swallowtail and her friends.

What I like about this book: I have to confess that I loved the lunch break the best – the butterflies zip and sip their way through the flowers. The luscious artwork supports lyrical prose as the words ask us to suspend reality and join a butterfly on a normal day at butterfly school.

Beyond the Books:

Go on a gall walk. You can find round galls on the stems of goldenrod, bumpy galls on leaves, and fluffy galls on leaves as well. Find out more about galls – and see some examples – here and here.

Birds aren’t the only animals to lay eggs. Find out what other animals lay eggs, and what kind of eggs they lay. 

If you were a butterfly, what sort of things would you learn at school? What might you do in art class? In science? At story time? At play time?

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

Explore Outdoors ~ Spring Bingo

 

 

 

Here's a few links to get you started:

How to measure a raindrop 

Follow a bumble bee 

listen to bird songs 

Peek under a log

 

 

Sing a Song of Salamanders...

Last week it was the Wibbly. This week it’s wiggly, squiggly salamanders. I knew I would love this book the moment I saw the cover, and I was right!

Salamander Song 

by Ginny Neil; illus. by Charli Vince 

40 pages; ages 4-8

Tilbury House Publishers, 2025

theme: citizen science, salamanders, nature

Autumn sings here, “Ready! Set! Swish!”

We meet the salamander at the end of salamander season – in the fall when it’s ready to burrow in for the winter. But soon, sleet raps and taps. The pond fills. Water slips and drips “into the deep and tickles the salamander out of its sleep.” Fortunately, there are people who are ready and willing to help the salamander and its friends cross the road to the safety of the vernal pool. 

What I like love about this book: The language is lyrical and luscious. There is rhyme without being a rhyming book, and there is a rhythm to this story that culminates in the chant on the last few pages… a chant that almost sounds like a salamander fight song. The illustrations invite children to spend time on the page noticing details. As a whole, this book encourages kids (and adults, too, I hope) to head outside on a wet night to check out the seasonal amphibians. And maybe get involved in Big Night, when folks help frogs and salamanders by slowing traffic for amphibian crossings. Back matter includes an author’s note and four community science projects that kids can get involved in.

I had to ask Ginny One Question.

Me: Your book has the feel of someone who's gone out and helped salamanders cross the roads. Have you?

Ginny: Although I have never participated in a Big Night salamander event, I am a Master Naturalist and as part of my training I visited vernal pools. Our leader, a salamander expert, netted various salamanders including a rare Jefferson salamander, and we saw balls of breeding toads (called toad balls) in which many males climb atop one female and the resulting mass forms a ball that rolls and roils in the pond. We also pulled up spotted salamander egg masses cemented to underwater vegetation, and our guide talked to us about the shrinking number of vernal pools available for these mass breeding events. 

Months later, I read an article about a citizen science project called Big Night, which takes place on the first night of a warm spring rain. This is when ordinary people gather and provide help for all the amphibians trying to reach vernal pools across the road from their wintering grounds. It was an intriguing idea and since I have done many citizen science projects with students I wanted to write about the idea of ordinary citizens working together to add data to the scientific community. Since all amphibians are counted as they cross, this was an interesting way to approach it. The book follows the salamanders and humans through the season until they meet on a night of salamander rain.

I love salamanders. My boys kept some red newts ( no longer legally permissible because of disease) in a terrarium  when they were growing up and we find them all the time around our mountain farm. All salamanders are considered an indicator species so when they begin to disappear we should be concerned.

Thank you for your salamander savvy. Ginny is a member of #STEAMTeam2025.  A couple of years ago we chatted about her book,  The Glorious Forest that Fire Built. You can find out more about her at her website, www.ginnyneilwrites.com

Beyond the Books:

Go on a salamander search. Choose a warm rainy night to go outside where you can listen for frogs croaking, toads trilling, and maybe see some slithery salamanders migrating toward their pond. If you don’t have salamanders living near you, check out these salamanders from North Carolina. So many kinds!

Why did the Salamander cross the road? You can find out in this article about the annual spring salamander migration in my neck of the woods.

Create a sensational salamander. You could use legos, carboard and paint, or crayons and paper to create a salamander that you’d love to see. You can even use the letter S as a salamander template, like this one from the San Diego Children’s Discovery Museum.

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by the publisher.

Explore Outdoors ~ Spring Comes In

 Spring officially started last week, but depending on where you live, signs of spring may have been sprouting up since February. Maybe it's the sound of running water (the creek at the bottom of the road is burbling along - noisy compared to a couple weeks ago!) or the abundance of bird calls. Maybe bits of green are poking up through the snow...

This week look for signs of spring!

Oh my Crikeys! It’s tadpole season

 

We Are the Wibbly! 

by Sarah Tagholm; illus. by Jane McGuinness

32 pages; ages 2-6

‎Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2025 

theme:  frogs, life cycles, nature

We are eggs. We are egg friends. We are the Wibbly.

I love frogs. Maybe not quite as much as I love bugs (which frogs eat – but that’s another matter altogether), but still, when I saw the title of this book I absolutely knew I had to read it! 

Fortunately, you can read it too, as it released earlier this week. 

Subtitled “A Tadpole’s Tail” this book is all about the frog lifecycle. It’s basic biology at its most humorous, as we follow along with our narrator who begins their story as one of the many eggs in a mass of frog eggs. Or, as they call it, “the Wibbly.” And it’s a nice life until things start happening: they get tails. They learn to swim – faster when there’s a “hunger-muncher” following them. They sprout hind legs. Front legs. Finally – in the nick of time – they achieve frogdom! 

This book is also about more than biology. What happens when you’re the last one to develop a tail? What happens when you are perfectly fine being just who you are and a leg unexpectedly sprouts from your torso?

What I like love about this book: I love the way Sarah Tagholm invites readers into the world of the Wibbly. She helps us see tadpole development from the tadpole’s point of view – their egg friends have gone “longish.” Then they … “Oh My Crikeys!” … burst out of the wibbly and begin “water-flying.”

I love the language. I have now incorporated “oh my crikeys!” into my basket of useful phrases for when unexpected – er, Stuff – hits the fan. I love the back matter, where the “true” story of the frog life cycle is presented. And I love Jane McGuinness’s illustrations created with a combo of mixed media, inks, and photoshop. She gets the perfect expressions on the frog faces when they discover their hands! Sorta reminds me of my granddaughter when she discovered her hands…

If I rated books, I'd give this one 5 lily pads!

Beyond the Books:

Listen for frogs and toads calling. Go outside in the afternoon on warmer days to a pond or wetland area. Find a comfy place to sit or stand and just listen. How many kinds of frogs can you hear? These recordings can help you learn a few of the calls.

Create your own wibbly. Gather some friends and find a space big enough for some jumping. Then start by crouching down like eggs in a mass, all snug together. When you’re ready to be a tadpole, lay on your tummy and wiggle. To begin turning into a frog, your hind legs grow out – so “fast swim” (or run) a few paces. When your front legs grow, you’re a real frog. Hop, frog, hop!

Brainstorm your own words or phrases to say when something surprising and unexpected happens. Here are a few words to get you started: yikes! Gee whiz! Holy smokes! Please share yours in the comments.

Today we’re joining Perfect Picture Book Friday. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copy provided by publisher. 

Explore Outdoors ~ End of Winter

 Spring officially begins tomorrow!  So this is a great time to walk around and see what the dregs of winter look like, and what the beginning of spring brings. Down at a neighbor's yard I found some mummied cherries and a catkin just waking up from a long winter's nap.

 

 

 What end-of-winter changes do you see around your neighborhood?