A trio of books

I wanted to share a trio of books today by Carl R Sams II and Jean Stoick. This pair of wildlife photographers have put together charming yet educational series of picture books using photographs of a young deer and other animals in nature. The books include: Lost in the Woods, First Snow in the Woods and Stranger in the Woods. In these books you follow a young deer through it's first year from when it is just born and finding it's way too it's first winter season. It's a fun way to share the changes in the season and in life with your own little ones. My favorite is Stranger in the Woods. It's the most surprising of the three and I just love the idea of a winter snowman built to feed the animals of the woods. There's even instructions in the back for creating your own 'feeding' snowman.

Box Turtle At Long Pond

Box Turtle at Long Pond by William T. George and pictures by Lindasay Barrett George is like a nature program in picture book format. We found this read on our last trip to the library. One of the librarians had it standing up for display along with other books on the top of the low picture bookshelves as they often do and I grabbed it up. I'm so glad that I did. The illustrations alone are stunning. They are so realistic they almost look like photographs. It's also fun to have to hunt for the turtle on some of the pictures where he blends in with the surroundings. The story takes you along with a box turtle as he goes about his day-to-day activities. You learn all kinds of interesting facts about these fascinating animals too as you read along, like I did not know that box turtles couldn't swim. I thought all turtles swam. It's a really fun look at the life of a turtle to share with your little ones!

The Bumper Book of Nature

This summer has been about enjoying nature as much as possible, we have been out and about and exploring! Aiding us in our summer of exploration is The Bumper Book of Nature: A User's Guide to the Great Outdoors by Stephen Moss. The book takes a look at fun things to do and look for through out all the seasons not just summer. It's not an exhaustive guide and the ideas shared are well geared for me and my two preschoolers to tackle. Along with ideas to enjoy the season like making a bark rubbing, listening to the heartbeat of a tree and bird watching, there are also helpful hints for things like the best time to find a bird's nest. There are also sections that help you identify things like tree leaves, birds, butterflies, amphibians, creatures that might be found in rock pool at the beach to name a few. Again this is not an exhaustive list, just covering some of the more common species you might find. The activities are very doable and some I've been enjoying doing with my family since I was a child. It's a thoughtful collection that helps you get out, enjoy and notice the treasures to be found in nature.

I'm very excited that our yard is teaming with more and more wildlife! We've been slowly planting here in there in our barren yard. We have added a bird feeder and a humming bird feeder. So far we've caught lightening bugs, watched dragonflies and birds. We've got two lizards, a toad living outside and just found our first little grass frog in our garden. Of course there's plenty of bugs and spiders too and thankfully no snakes! I hope you are all enjoying your summers!

The Listening walk

The Listening Walk by Paul Showers and illustrated by Aliki has been a great read for us to share this spring as we've been listening to the world come alive around us. The birds have returned and so have the lawn mowers! This year more than past my two have been all about being outside and this book makes a perfect read to invite them to take in all the wonderful senses around them, to slow, be still and quiet sometimes, to just listen to all the different sounds. The story is about a little girl who always looks forward to quiet walks with her Dad and her dog. Her Dad thinks and she is also quiet but quite busy listening. The book is filled with fun sounds that include sounds from nature, the neighborhood and the busy city streets. The illustrations are simple line drawings, straightforward, full of life and color.

Science Kits Review - CSN Stores

I posted just before Christmas that I was given an opportunity to do a review for CSN stores and gladly accepted the chance. I decided to get my kids each a science kit by Thames and Kosmos. The sets are from their little labs collection for ages 5 and up. My 5 year old is definitely better suited for the comprehension of the experiments but my 3 year old is enjoying joining in even if she's not quite grasping the why of it all.

Being that I have younger kids I wanted kits that had to do with life and earth science. My two love exploring and learning about nature. So the two kits I selected were 'Little Labs Plant Science' and 'Little Labs Weather science'.


Now I must confess, science was never one of my strongest subjects. I'm not the Mom that can just pop into the kitchen or garage assemble some materials and then wow my kids with a fun and educational science experiment. So these kits are perfect to me. They come with a book of experiments that include step by step instructions, questions about the experiments for the kids to ponder and of course the explanation. The kits also come with pretty much everything you need to do all the experiments. For example the plant kit does require you provide some seeds for a couple of the experiments. There are around 10 - 11 experiments for each set and we're still working our way through them. We have enjoyed the ones we've completed (some were more successful than others). My kids light up when I get out their science sets and can't wait to figure out which one we should attempt next. I also love that you can repeat all the experiments again and again. I know we'll get a few years out of these sets and each year I'm sure they'll grasp more about the concepts we're exploring. I loved getting the supplies too because I'm sure I'll be able to use them for other experiments we might want to try that we find from other sources. I'm very happy with our kits and plan on buying more in this series.

A Basket Full of Polar Bears

A basket full of polar bear books, that is. We're learning all about artic animals around here. So I wanted to share some fun Polar Bear reads with you all.


I love mixing educational non-fiction reads with fun fictional ones on the topic we're learning about. Usborne books never disappoints for educational and fun non-fiction reads. Here are some fact filled books for all ages:
Polar Bears Luxury Touchy-Feely Board Book by Fiona Watt - ages 9 months and up
Bears by Emma Helbrough - ages 5-7. About all types of bears including polar bears.
Polar Bears by Conrad Mason - ages 7 & up
As always you can contact me if you'd like to learn more about Usborne books!


Hush Little Polar Bear by Jeff Mack. Okay could that polar bear be anymore cuddly looking? It's a sweet good night read as a little girl sings her stuffed polar bear a bedtime song. Follow along as her vivid imagination transports the polar bear on a wonderful bedtime journey.



Polar Bear Night by Lauren Thompson and illustrated by Stephen Savage. I love the bold, modern illustrations in this book and the cool blue tone color scheme. It's simple story of a little polar sensing something special is about to happen wonders out of his den to explore. He returns to his cozy den sleepy from his adventures making it a great cozy bedtime read.



The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett. In her wonderful retelling fashion of old tales Jan Brett brings us a fun winter twist on the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Beautiful realistic drawings accompany the text.



Panda and Polar Bear by Matthew J. Baek. A little polar bear lives at the zoo. At the end of his habitat is a high white cliff. Curious about the white cliff and what might be out there he heads off to explore. Its a story of exploration and friendship as two very different bears meet for the first time. The soft watercolor illustrations are sweet and stunning.



Romeo and Lou Blast off by Derek Anderson. Last is a funny read about two friends that are on quite the adventure in their very own rocket ship made out of snow. It's a fun, imaginative read with bold, expressive, colorful illustrations. Get ready to blast off for some serious fun with Romeo and Lou.

I Face the Wind - science concepts

I Face the Wind by Vicki Cobb and illustrated by Julia Gorton is a great early science concept picture book. It's one part simple story and another part science book. Geared towards ages 4-8 this book will get kids excited about science and the world around them. Concepts and principles about air are clearly and simply presented as a great first introduction to young kids. Oh and did I mention engagingly presented? This is not the non-fun science book I read back in school. The illustrations are bold and colorful. They add another wonderful layer to this book that help reinforce the concepts being presented. It's filled with facts and experiments that flow together with the story. The simple supplies you'll need to the handful of experiments include: a clothes hanger, a pencil, a large plastic (grocery) bag, two identical balloons, tape and a ball. Who doesn't have these items on hand? It's great hands on fun and learning!

Try out these great books also by Vicki Cobb for more science fun:

An Egg is Quiet and A Seed is Sleepy

Well I thought I'd put a little twist on my quiet/sleepy week we're having around here with these two books by Dianne Hutts Aston and illustrated by Sylvia Long.




The First is titled An Egg is Quiet and the second, A Seed is Sleepy. I was thinking I'd post these in the spring but the titles couldn't be more perfect for this week. Besides reading, learning and a study in nature is always in season. Both books are similar to a naturalist journal with elegant text, observations and beautiful watercolor illustrations. Both explore the nature of their respective topics; eggs, seeds and well life. It's more science book than story book but will engage the youngest of readers, it is so lovely to look at and simple to read.