Perhaps I'm biased since I already agree with the premise of this book, but lions have always been one of my favorite animals and are totally the "king of beasts," so I enjoyed 10 Reasons to Love ... a Lion, and the way it introduces lions' characteristics, habitat, and lifestyle. 

It's a short, informational read, and each double-page illustration includes some other animals and plants that are also found on the African savannah.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author: Catherine Barr
Illustrator: Hanako Clulow
Pages: 24
Content Advisory: None

More Reviews at Amazon

National Parks of the U.S.A. is a wonderful collection of facts and intricate, textured illustrations highlighting some of the more popular national parks in the United States.

The book focuses on one region of the United States at a time, showing a blurb of each national park and where it's located on the map, and then features some of the more notable ones with a double-page spread of a larger illustration and summary, followed by another double-page spread with more details and tidbits about the park's interesting features, such as animals, plants, geologic formations, weather, Native American history, and more.

Many of the more popular parks are featured, such as Yosemite, Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Denali, Death Valley, the Badlands, etc. I was also glad to see my home state of Maine featured by way of Acadia.

Even though I'm kind of a homebody, this book made me want to travel! It's a great way for kids to learn more about the amazing natural wonders of our country, as well as some of the history of their preservation.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author: Kate Siber
Illustrator: Chris Turnham
Pages: 112
Content Advisory: None

More Reviews at Amazon

The Night the Forest Came to Town tells a gentle, rhyming story of some little ways that bits and pieces of wildlife "arrive" overnight in a city. From bird nests to flowers, from rodents to new seedlings, the forest reclaims certain sections of the city that become more visible and beautiful as the sun dawns.

I suppose it's a little bit of a "human vs. nature" story without feeling antagonistic, though a bit idealized in its outcome. Still, I enjoyed the illustrations, especially the colors and vantage points, and I can see how this could bring a bit of gardening inspiration even to a busy city landscape.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author: Charles Ghigna
Illustrator: Annie Wilkinson
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None

More Reviews at Amazon

You Belong Here is a beautiful, well-written poem that affirms a child's sense of "belonging" with their parent(s). The text compares the way that different kinds of animals belong in their unique environments with "you" belonging here with "me." The last verse emphasizes that even though the child may travel and see the world, that won't stop them from belonging. (Even though this is assumed to be written from a parent-to-child perspective, the pronouns are vague enough that it could be applied to other situations too.)

The illustrations are so beautiful, using a lot of earth tones to set up lovely contrasts and depictions of the natural world. In fact, I really can't think of anything that could make this book better. It would make a great gift for any young child, and especially children who are adopted or in mixed families. 

Scrounged From: Amazon (a present for our three-year-old)

Format: Hardcover
Author: M.H. Clark
Illustrator: Isabelle Arsenault
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None

More Reviews at Amazon

We enjoyed reading another installment from the Messner/Neal duo, after reading Over and Under the Snow (see my review here). Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt includes beautiful, colorful artwork and tells the story of some of the things that go on in a garden over the course of a year. The text is spare and fairly poetic, and communicates facts about bugs, plants, and the food chain without a lot of technical terms. 

The book follows a girl and her Nana as they haul off dead plants and sow seeds in the spring, watch the vegetables ripen in the summer, and harvest and put the garden "to bed" in the autumn, and soon it rests under a blanket of snow for the winter. We're also introduced to some of the creatures that live in gardens: ladybugs, earth worms, pill bugs, and even garter snakes.

It's a great reminder that there's a lot going on in one little garden, and it's all interconnected -- even down in the dirt where we don't often see it.

Scrounged From: Our local library

Format: Hardcover
Author: Kate Messner
Illustrator: Christopher Silas Neal
Pages: 52
Content Advisory: None

More Reviews at Amazon