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!