Summer is a great time to sit under the shade of a tree and enjoy a good book. Whether children spend their summers in the city, the suburbs, or on the farm, a good book can jumpstart the imagination and encourage exploration of the world around them.
Nature in One's Own Backyard
Connecting to nature does not have to be grandiose or complicated. Nature can be found in anyone’s yard, in the common plants and animals seen every day. The following set of books will inspire miniature botanists and entomologists to study and preserve the ecosystems right outside their front doors.
The Icky Bug Alphabet Book [Charlesbridge, 1993], one of Jerry Pallota’s nonfiction alphabet titles, includes detailed illustrations and interesting facts about 26 different insects. It is simple enough for toddlers and preschoolers to enjoy, while providing information for older readers. Encourage children to find the creatures living under their feet – in gardens, under rocks, or crawling through the grass.
Fireflies, by Julie Brinckloe [Aladdin, 1986], celebrates a favorite warm summer evening ritual. A young boy joins other children in his neighborhood to collect fireflies in a jar. After admiring how they make his jar glow like the moonlight, the boy realizes that he must set the fireflies free. This book celebrates both the wonder of nature and respect for it.
On Meadowview Street, by Henry Cole [HarperCollins, 2007] inspires children not only to preserve the environment, but also to take an active role in restoring it. Disappointed at not finding an actual meadow on Meadowview Street where she lives, Caroline begs her father to save a single flower growing on their lawn. He mows around it, and they soon add more flowers, a tree, and a pond to attract wildlife to the new meadow on their front lawn.
My Father’s Hands, by Joanne Ryder [HarperCollins, 1994] is a tribute to the author’s father. She recalls watching his hands tend the backyard garden. As he works, he carefully holds all of the tiny creatures he finds for his daughter to inspect. Just as the father inspires his daughter to marvel at the living things he finds, children reading the book may want to explore wildlife in a nearby garden.
Nature on Short Excursions
What would summer be without berry-picking trips to the local farm, a splash in a nearby lake, or a long ambling walk through the woods? Some books are well-suited to reading in anticipation of such a trip or just to live vicariously through the characters in the stories.
Originally written in 1948, Blueberries for Sal, by Robert McCloskey [Puffin, 1976] is a classic that still resonates today. At the same time Sal is helping her mother pick blueberries to can for the winter, a bear cub and his mother are eating berries for their own winter preparations. The story explores mother-child relationships in both the human and animal worlds and encourages children to see similarities between themselves and other animals.
Denise Fleming’s In the Tall, Tall Grass [Henry Holt, 1995] describes, in lovely rhyming text, the animals that a young boy sees while taking a walk. The book encourages children to listen, not just look, at the nature around them. A quick trip to the author’s website includes an art project that can be adapted to portray any outdoor scene.
Summer in the City
Books about summertime, especially ones concerning nature and outdoor play, are often set in the country or the suburbs. However, as the following two books demonstrate, nature can easily be found in the city as well – and one does not even have to look that hard!
In Nuts to You, by Lois Ehlert [Voyager, 2004], a young boy tries to coax a curious squirrel back outside after it has snuck into an apartment window. Ehlert labels many of the plants, birds, and animals pictured in the book, showing just how much wildlife can be found in the city.
Sometimes people bring nature to the city, as in A Day at the Market, by Sara Anderson [Handprint Books, 2006]. The book describes, in rhyming text and vibrant pictures, a day at Pike Place Market in Seattle. Children can see how people depend on nature as they experience a day at the farmer’s market.
Once your children have read books about communing with nature, they may want to experience the same things their favorite characters did. Go for a walk, plant a garden, or visit a farmer’s market to see how much nature exists right in the neighborhood. Take a closer look at the books listed and some other titles celebrating summer.
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