scrounge: /skrounj/ informal verb: to actively seek [books] from any available source
The Magic Garden is a simple book of lovely and whimsical illustrations that delves into the mysteries that exist right outside our doorsteps. It takes the reader on a little tour of an ordinary garden, pointing out some of the amazing creatures that live and work there, regardless of whether we notice them or not.
From snakes to spiders, bees to birds, we are encouraged to take a closer look at some of the more "shy" creatures that surround us every day. While I'm not really a fan of the word "magic" being used to describe nature, I do think the book is simply trying to communicate how intricate and mysterious some of the everyday facets of nature can be, even when they're ignored.
At the end of the book, there are some more detailed paragraphs about many of the creatures that are mentioned -- how they live, eat, weave, spin, etc.
(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)
Scrounged From: NetGalley
Format: Kindle
Author/Illustrator: Lemniscates
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None
The photography in The Seal Garden is stunning. I love it when books use photographs of familiar creatures to introduce us to very specific places. This book covers "the seal garden," a special area of underwater vegetation in the Great Bear Sea off the coast of British Columbia, where seals and other animals can go to be safe from storms and predators.
There are some really lovely shots here, of seals swimming around under and above the water. My favorites were the pictures of shafts of light spreading through the water and plants. You get the feeling that this book was created by people who genuinely know and love the area, and is not just another "general nature information" project.
The text focuses on describing some of the animals that live in this environment and some of the things they may experience on a daily basis -- sheltering from a storm or a group of hunting orcas, eating fish, lounging on rocks, etc.
My only complaint is that I didn't see that the book ever actually tells us where the Great Bear Sea is, other than mentioning the Pacific Ocean. Since I'm not from the Pacific Northwest, the name was unfamiliar to me, so it's unfortunate that I had to resort to Google to figure out exactly where this place is located -- even a simple map would have been very helpful.
(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)
Scrounged From: NetGalley
Format: Kindle
Author: Nicholas Read
Photographer: Ian McAllister
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None
I really enjoyed Wild World, a collection of poetry about many of Earth's most recognizable wild places that contain animal habitats. The poetry is paired with lovely, colorful illustrations featuring many animals found in each type of place.
The poetry contains some wonderful imagery and metaphor, and as such is probably beyond preschoolers, but for older children and adults this is a lovely way to learn and be reminded about these animal habitats, and references to the food chain help prevent these vignettes from becoming romanticized. There are some general environments covered here such as jungles, deserts, mountains, etc., but also some more specific ones such as moorlands, mangroves, and the Australian Outback.
(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)
Scrounged From: NetGalley
Format: Kindle
Author: Angela McAllister
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None
Little Kids First Big Book of Animals is a great book from National Geographic that introduces kids to many different kinds of animals all over the world. The book organizes the animals by the type of environment they live in: grasslands, the desert, the sea, forests and jungles, and the arctic.
Each section covers several animals (some more than others), with one or two double pages devoted to each animal. There are lots of great photographs, simple text, and an emphasis on the relationship between parents and baby animals. Some of the animals included are: snakes, giraffes, snowy owls, zebras, spiders, desert jerboas, penguins, raccoons, gorillas, koalas, dolphins, and more.
This book can be read all at once if the child's attention span is long enough, but could also be read in sections for use in a science or geography unit. My five-year-old son says about it:
"It's nice and long and I like to sit and read it. It has beavers in it. They chop up wood to make their dam. The animal I like the most is an octopus. It has a siphon under it that goes into the water with it."
Scrounged From: Books-a-Million
Format: Hardcover
Author: Catherine D. Hughes
Pages: 128
Content Advisory: None
Finding Wild is a short, simple, and lyrical "concept book" that celebrates the idea of "wild." What is it? Where do you find it? The answers aren't straightforward, but with enough examples and adjectives, as well as beautiful, evocative images of a pair of children exploring the outdoors, we start to get a picture of this word.
Wild can be dangerous -- it can have teeth, or sting, or prick your finger. But it can also be soft and sweet-smelling, producing berries and beautiful flowers.
Toward the end we see how much harder it can be to "find wild" in cities that are orderly and covered in concrete. But wild is still there -- if we look for it!
Scrounged From: Our local library
Format: Hardcover
Author: Megan Wagner Lloyd
Illustrator: Abigail Halpin
Pages: 32
Content Advisory: None
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