REVIEWS


Have you ever wondered how plants and animals survive in the concrete jungle of the city? Peggy Kochanoff’s Be a City Na- ture Detective explores the mysteries of how a variety species and organisms, from bedbugs to coyotes and burdock seeds to ginkgo trees, have adapted and are able to survive in urban settings. Te book is structured in a call-and-


response format, where one page invites the reader in with a question and the answer is provided on the next. We learn how 16 dif- ferent species can be found co-existing with us in the urban environment. Not only does this text investigate how


BE A CITY NATURE DETECTIVE: Solving the Mysteries of How Plants and Animals Survive in the Urban Jungle by Peggy Kochanoff Nimbus Publishing, 2018 56 pages, $14.95 ♥ ♥ ♥ Reviewed by Tina Buttineau


certain beings have adapted to survive in cit- ies, but it also teaches readers about different species. We learn what they look like, where they grow/live, what the animals eat and where the plants originated. Te book wraps up with a comparison between the night sky in the country and the city. Kochanoff has illustrated this book with


beautiful, eye-catching watercolour images. However, if the book is meant to help read- ers identify plants in the city, the illustrations


Tis lovely, informative book encourages you and your class to get out onto the land to ex- plore the schoolyard, your community and the lands on which you live and learn. Presented through an Indigenous lens,


Te Land Knows Me is written as a walk through nature where readers are gently guided to learn about plants from a tradi- tional perspective. Tere are plants for eat- ing, plants for healing and plants for build- ing. All of them have significance and are respected and honoured. I value that the book has informative side-


THE LAND KNOWS ME: A Nature Walk Exploring Indigenous Wisdom by Leigh Joseph illustrated by Natalie Schnitter Becker & Mayer Kids, 2025 80 pages, $25.99 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ Reviewed by Teri Flemming


46 ETFO VOICE | WINTER 2025


bars and includes essential safety and proper harvesting practices. Discussions could open up around sustainability and ensuring you are giving back as a sign of gratitude and re- specting the land and plants by only taking 10 per cent of the plant, not the first or last plant, or sometimes not harvesting at all. I love using this as a read-aloud for a


K-3 audience. Te illustrations are colour- ful, vivid and full of detail that allow stu- dents to acquire plant knowledge. We of- ten bring this book along during outdoor learning and have gone on our own plant medicine walks and had the students draw


and label the parts of different plants. We have used the cedar in our schoolyard to make both cedar tea and cedar jelly. We also found raspberries, dandelions, red clover and maple and talk about how these plants can be used for food and medicine. Tere are more than 40 Squamish words


to learn in this book. Educators can encour- age students to look up the translations for the plants that they find in their school area as an extension activity using the helpful glossary, making the reader feel like they’ve learned something and had fun doing it. Tis book presents a wonderful oppor-


tunity to have children start thinking about their relationship with the land they live on and the plants that are around them. Read- ing this book reminds us about the impor- tance of slowing down and appreciating na- ture, seasonal changes and the life that is all around us.


Teri Flemming is a member of the Renfrew County Teacher Local.


are not realistic enough. Looking at the im- ages could provide the opportunity for stu- dents to research and compare photos of the real plants with the illustrations and discuss similarities and differences. Te illustrations could also be used as an introduction to teach watercolour painting in visual arts. Students could look for examples in the text where Kochanoff has created different textures or added shadows and depth using paint. While there are many connections to the


Grade 2 (Growth and Changes in Animals) and Grade 3 (Growth and Changes in Plants) Science curriculum, the vocabulary in this text could be too challenging for Primary grades. It looks like a picture book but reads more like a textbook, and could in fact serve as a good introduction to textbooks for stu- dents, as it does have bolded terms through- out and a glossary at the back. Tis book is filled with information, from cover to cover.


Tina Buttineau is a member of the Bluewater Teacher Local.


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