I have the cutest book to review for you today, another great addition to your bookshelf. Natures Day is written by Kay Maguire and illustrated by Danielle Kroll. The quality of this book is wonderful. This hardcover book has a canvas-like texture and the title has been slightly recessed into it making it feel and look like a quality book. I’m quite a tactile person so this really appeals to me.
Natures Day Review
Nature is all around us, it’s in our gardens, along our streets, in our fields, lakes and ponds. Changes happen all the time, today I might see a flower bud tightly closed on the apple tree, tomorrow it has burst open and reveals it’s beauty to the eye. I am in the habit of walking around my garden each morning to see what has popped up, what is nearing it’s end. Being in the habit of observance helps to keep me in touch with the ever-changing seasons, and that is exactly what this book is all about.
Natures Day focus on eight outdoor locations throughout the seasons. Each new season this book takes us back to:
The Garden
The Veg patch
The Woods
The Farm
The Fields
The Pond
The Orchard
The Street
We see how the world awakes in spring right outside our front door in our very own gardens, what early crops we see coming into season, the bird-song in the woods, how the farmer opens the barn doors and lets his animals out into the field again and how his workload begins to increase with the warm days and the quest to grow food to feed us all.
As we move into summer, we re-visit these places and see how the flowers are beginning to bloom in our gardens, how berries in our veg patch are ripening. We revisit the farmer and see how busy he is making hay in the sunshine, and how all those blossoms in the orchard have turned to fruit which now weigh down the boughs. We see the changes on our very own street from a bit of a spring clean and spruce in the springtime to the hustle and bustle of noise as children spend more time playing during the longer summer days.
Autumn sees a change in all of our eight locations again, there is a shift in the air and we know that the earth is slowing down and making ready for its winter rest. Of course the farmer is still very busy in his fields, it’s harvest time and there is much to be brought in for market and harvest festivals. Leaves are beginning to turn and fall in the woods and fungi is pushing its way up from the woodland floor. Frogs and newts swim to the silty bottom of the pond before the water freezes and we see some of our birds migrate to warmer climes. In the orchard we see fruit falling to the floor providing a feast for insects and birds alike. In the street children play conkers while the adults are busy raking up fallen leaves.
Winter is here now, the days are short and the nights long and freezing. In the garden we need to make sure that we keep the feeders full for the birds and that there is fresh water available for them. We admire the frozen spiders webs and look forward to the first snowfall. On the farm the farmer is keeping a close eye on his animals. The cows are bedded down in the barns and there are daily – twice daily trips to check on the sheep in the fields, making sure they are fed and watered. The fields lie bare and barren in winter as do the hedgerows, their last leaves having fallen to the ground. Ponds are now frozen over and it is fun to skim stones across the ice. In the street we see houses decorated for Christmas and we see the Holly bushes with their ripe red berries.
And so we reach the end of our seasonal observance and we await for the cycle to begin again.
This book will keep you and your children engaged and cultivating the habit of nature observation all the year through. I would say that this book is suitable for young children up to the age of 11. It retails at Amazon.uk for £11.99 and Amazon.com for $14.99
Wide Eyed Editions, has very kindly offered one of our readers the opportunity to win a copy of Natures Day. They have lots of fantastic children’s titles and I would encourage you to visit their website and have a look. It’s bright and colorful and fun to browse 🙂
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-originally published May 2015
Shirley Ann lives in the UK with her husband, two daughters, and two cats who think they rule the roost. She's a veteran homeschooler of 13 years and is passionate about home keeping, homeschooling, nature study, and seasonal living, Shirley regularly blogs about her Charlotte Mason-inspired homeschooling and British lifestyle on her blog, 'Building A Household of Faith'.
Studying the seasons is a bit difficult for us because it is summer where we live for a good 9-10 months. We do make it a point to travel to other places during different seasons. Books are another way we teach about the seasons. Thanks for the great review and giveaway.
My little ones love the outdoors. We garden, go on walks, and live outdoors as much as possible on our little mini-farm.
We mostly take walks and discuss what we find when we’re out.
We like to go on walks around the block all year long. We notice how the trees and animals change in the same locations. Fall is our favorite!
Where we live, we don’t have huge changes in the seasons. Best place to notice changes would be at a local farm education center. You can see changes in the crops being planted and harvested, and also changes in the animals. New babies are often born in the spring, perhaps our favorite time to visit.
We garden as we’re able. We go for walks and study the plants and animals we see. Lately, that has been herbs, turtles, ants, and skunks.
I love the artwork in the book!
To observe the seasons, we regularly go on nature walks. Our rule is that we go out if the temperature is 40 F and above as long as it’s not raining. We have observed birds’ nests, worms, pinecones, and flowers this spring.
We love to take lots of pictures while we are out in nature. Especially of the things we can’t necessarily take with us to do further studies.
I find that since the garden is here every day we notice the changes less so we make effort to go to local parks where there are lots of old growth trees and wider spaces and the changes are more obvious.
I love taking the kids on walks to see things change with the seasons. Great way to get to know your surrounding nature.
My girls and I love to come out to our garden on a daily basis to check up on our plants, water and prune them, and pull out the weeds. They get so excited every time they see a new flower bloom; in the same way they seem so sad when they witness one wilting away and falling off its stem.