Children to the Great Outdoors


Ten of the Best Best Books to Introduce


10


As spring approaches, Margaret Mallett chooses ten of the best books to get children out of the house and into the sunshine.


Learning about nature and being active in the outdoors is an important part of childhood - perhaps even more so in our digital world. The best books show the possibilities of outdoor adventure, what to look for and how to develop practical skills. But sometimes children appreciate  changing seasons. The following books, roughly in age suitability, cover activities in both rural and urban environments.


Out and About in My Boots: Lift -the-Flap and discover the World Around You


Christine Goodings, illus Jo Brown, Lion Hudson plc, 978-0-7459-6924-4, £5.99 pbk. Age 0-3


I find that there is a stage when lift-the-flap books are the ones searched for in the book box. This one helps very young children resavour an outing to the park, pond or garden by following the adventures of six little explorers. The author suggests if you slow down and lift a log you will not miss seeing smaller creatures like beetles. ‘Can you stand quite still? What can you see?’ Yes it is good to stop, look and listen. Children will love looking at this book and sharing what they saw on their own forays into the outdoors.


Snail Trail Ruth Brown, Andersen Press, 978-1-8493-9252-5, £6.99 hbk. Age 0-5 A splendid starting point is provided here for even the youngest children to look for snails in their backyards or gardens or in the local park. They are introduced to a vocabulary to talk about snails and the exquisite, detailed pictures of the creatures will help direct and inform their observations. Many reception class teachers have used this book to enrich a minibeast project and to inspire children’s annotated pictures and diagrams.


Yucky Worms Vivian French illus Jessica Ahlberg, Walker Books, 978-1-4063-6704-1, £6.99 hbk. Age 3+ Do you feel uneasy when some children’s books on minibeasts seem to suggest that


‘Ugh!’ is a reasonable response to these interesting creatures? Vivian French challenges the sentiment in her title by showing young learners that worms are fascinating and useful - they help plants to


10 Books for Keeps No.217 March 2016


grow well by aerating the soil. Much scientific information is given in the context of an engaging story and children will be amused by the speech bubbles pretending the worms are talking. The detailed cross sections will make children want to search for worms and perhaps, with some help, make a wormery.


A First Book of Nature Nicola Davies illus Mark Hearld, Walker Books, 978-1-4063-0491-6, £14.99 hbk. Age 5-8


I like the way this author connects with young readers’ experiences as she takes them through the four seasons, showing the main features and highlights of each. In spring the emphasis is on the reawakening of the landscape while the section on summer takes us to a city park where birds sing and a cricket rubs his leg along his wing in the warm dry grass. The autumn pages are full of fiery coloured leaves and berries and the fruits of the harvest – there’s a handy recipe for Berry Crumble. In winter we see the ‘criss- cross patterns that the twigs make across the sky’. The book is alive with instructions for practical tasks – seed planting, making compost and preparing bird cake to nourish the birds in the cold season.


Wild Adventures Mick Manning and Brita Granstrom, Frances Lincoln, 978-1-84780-436-5, £12.99 hbk. Age 5-8


Young readers learn here how to build dens and make secret signals, how to recognize star constellations and how to encourage wildlife into the garden. These distinguished nature artists show the very essence of each animal and plant they draw. Take the double spread on ‘Evening Serenade & Dawn Chorus’: two children savour the outdoors in a tent with the sky full of beautifully drawn crickets, bats and birds. Brita’s distinctive hand lettering names the creatures and the sounds they make. Woodland, moorland, river and seaside are exciting locations. But town children can enjoy ‘backyard adventures’, cloud gazing and kite flying for example. The spread explaining how collections can be displayed on a nature table, after identifying the specimens using books and websites, is of great help to teachers. I would just like to squeeze in a mention of a new book – Den Building by Jane Hewitt & Cathy Cross (Crown House) – it has an exciting section on ‘Outside Dens’ with considerable appeal to young imaginations.


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