Reading and Nature For Kids are two of the most important aspects of a childs life, as far as I’m concerned. Here is a list of my favorite books about nature and physical activity for kids and adults. What are your favorite books? Let me know and I’ll post them. shawna@natureforkids.net
I’ve always wanted to make a wolf suit for my boys. One like Max wears in the book “Where The Wild Things Are” written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak. I know they would wear it out just like their super man, ninja and spiderman costumes. Unfortunately my sewing skills are lacking. I can handle mending things but the extent of my sewing skills ended at an apron I made in 4-H when I was like 10. “Where The Wild Things Are,” has always been a favorite book of mine and now my children seem to enjoy it as much as me. The main character, Max, has a playful personality that becomes apparent on the very first page. “Max…made mischief of one kind and another.” As does any little boy, including my own two. he’s so mischievous his mother sends him to bed without eating anything. His playful personality isn’t the only portion of his character that appeals to me. His imagination is what really makes the meat of the book. It takes him and the reader on an outdoor adventure where he finds himself in a forest, sails a boat, discovers wild things, does magic tricks, dances under the moonlight, hangs from trees and becomes a king. Max eventually becomes lonely and hungry however, two things that a mother and a home can remedy easily. So he decides to give up being a wild thing and returns home. The loving part I see in the story is that his mom has his dinner waiting for him when he returns…”and it’s still hot”. The pictures are delightful. I have some of the prints hanging in my boys’ room. While you read and look at the illustrations it’s easy to produce your own sound effects and wild rumpus music.
I believe books like these help inspire children to create their own journey. It’s a spring board for adventure. Plus it’s something for parents and children to share.
Other books I’d recommend:
“Last Child in the Woods” by Richard Louv
“The Green Hour” by Todd Christopher
“Clap Your Hands” by Lorinda Bryan Cauley. This one keeps their little bodies moving!
Through Usborne Books “Farmyard Tales”. There’s a little hidden duck on each page that they have to find. This book covers everything from farmers markets, fairs and camping trips.
“The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and THE BIG HUNGRY BEAR” written by Don and Audrey Wood.
“Good Dog Carl” by Alexandra Day. Hardly any words but with the illustrations they’re not needed.
“Blueberries For Sal” by Robert McCloskey
“Ferdinand The Bull” by Munro Leaf. My favorite as a kid.
As much as I’d hate to admit it, my boys love “Go Diego Go” books. They’re not my favorite book’s to read but they teach a lot about different animals and the outdoors. Plus Diego is the coolest kid I know. Seriously, how many little boys do you know get to explore the rain forest with no supervision and drive their own jeep?!
Reader Suggestions:
Kids Go Wild, by Sarah BurkeTwo kids take their clueless parents on an overnight backpakcing trip in the Canadian Rockies. The book is kind of long for a small child, but it has lots of great information on Leave No Trace, expedition behavior and enjoying the outdoors in a story format. The book is printed on recycled paper and some of the profit goes to environmental protection. Suggested by Kerri Jex of Utah
We’re Going On A Bear Hunt Suggested by Kristine Lynn of Nevada
If you have a favorite Childrens book that encourages physical activity or outdoor play leave a comment! I’m always up for buying new books!
I am a little bear. by Francois Crozat. My boys really love this one…
http://www.amazon.com/Am-Little-Bear-Animal-Miniature/dp/0812061918
Also the “Who Pooped in the Park?” series is great. Especially good to prepare for a trip to a large National Park like Yellowstone since they have versions of the books for specific spots.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=who+pooped+in+the+park&x=0&y=0
Carmen! Thanks for the book suggestions. I hadn’t heard of either one before! I’m excited to check them out. I will be putting these on the Nature Book Page up top!
Hello Shawna
You have a lovely, interesting and informative site here. I’m enjoying looking at your book recommendations. I have a listmania on UK of my favourite children’s books with an outdoor and/or environmental theme. Many of them I stumbled across through trips to North America. Here’s the link and happy reading!
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Powerful-Environmental-Messages-for-Children/lm/RPR4NGJDBAG53/ref=cm_lm_byauthor_title_full
Here are some titles for parents who want to do more research and development of
the natural world: Nature with Children of All Ages ISBN 0-13-611542-X , by Edith A. Sisson (The Massachusettes Audubon Socitey) , Handbook of Nature Study by Anna
Botsford Comstock, ISBN 0-8014-9384-6. Anyone really serious about this could
read books on or by Charlotte Mason, a British woman who advocated Nature Study
through direct contact with nature …and this was in the 1880′s !! Another fantastic
American writer is Sterling North. He wrote the best seller Rascal that has been made
into a movie, but his other books are amazing. Google him. A gem of a book for
elementary kids is City Critters by Helen Ross Russell, worth searching for.
Colleen from Canada
I was looking all Sunday for some opinions and news about the usborne activity books and here you have delivered. Thanks!
I was looking all Sunday for some opinions and news about the usborne books and here you have delivered. Thanks!
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I am sure kids will loved to read these kind of books. I hope parents too can buy these books for their children. Thank you for sharing to us.
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This is a great list! Quite a few here that we haven’t checked out yet. Thanks so much for sharing, I love seeing what other parents and educators are reading to their kids!
What a great post on big bear camping spots! Seriously, some of your best work. I can’t argue with one word of it, and I just subscribed to your feed. In the future, how about a post on ANCHOR_TEXT%? Cheers!
Hello fellow blogger! I’m rather new to blogs but I just wanted to say that I enjoyed your blog here about big bear camping spots; It kept me engrossed all the way to the end! Keep up the fine work… I’m always hoping to learn more about Big Bear California.
Samantha Loses the Box Turtle is a new chapter book for kids. I think it might be a good one for this list. http://www.samsanimals.info
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Dear Natureforkids,
This question may be a little off-topic, Im doing an honors project this year meant for 9th and 10th graders. I need to be able to challenge myself, but not something too hard. I wanted to do Dracula or frankenstein but i cant do those because Dracula is too hard and frankenstein is taught in school. I need 3 books under the theme of Duality of Human Nature, and the only one i have is “the strange case of dr. jekyll and mr. hyde” HELP MEEEEEEE
Keep up the posts!
In the interest of getting more kids out hiking and enjoying nature in new
ways, I recently created http://www.HikingWithDogs.net.
The site encourages kids to try hiking with their bvest friend at their side. Hiking/planning tips, dog facts, videos, activities, news–the ssite is designed to be informative but fun. Plus share their own dog-powered
adventures and photos online.
The site is small and, as yet, undiscovered. But if I succeed in getting
even a small pack of kids and their dogs to roll off of the couch and into
nature, I’ll consider it worthwhile.
I hope you’ll find time to check it out and share with your friends!
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Apart from that, wonderful site!
Introduce your child to our U.S. National Parks with Mark the Moose. http://www.MarktheMoose.com Free printable coloring pages.
Great site here! Lots of AWESOME stuff. “Backcountry Kids” is a children’s book written to inspire and educate kids to get outside.