Help with Nature Study

[LuxPerpetua]

I don't know if there exists what I'm looking for, but I thought of all people, you ladies would know. We do a combination of Waldorf and unschooling at the moment--just for reference. Dd is 4.5 and loves nature, so I'm in search of books that involve animating nature to make it come more "alive" so to speak. By that I'm meaning like Beatrix Potter with Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddleduck, etc. She really loves learning about nature through literature but I don't really want a dry, "Gail Gibbons" (no offense!) approach right now, but one that is imaginative yet factual. We are already doing the whole Beatrix Potter collection and the Cicely Mary Barker fairy poems (for flowers and trees). Does anyone know of any other type literature out there with these kinds of nature stories?

[Callimom]

Look into the Thorton Burgess Books. She would probably enjoy those. My kids loved Lucy Hawkings books about space although they are tech heavy and not very waldorfy.
Anna Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study also has (iirc) stories and poetry along with nature study.
For older kids you could try books like My Side of the Mountain (the author has written a large number of books).

There are literally 1000s of beautiful picture books which cover science through literature. We've loved children's picture book biographies of scientists like Muir, Audobon, Carson etc. A quick google brought up this list.
hth
Karen

[shoefairy3]

My kids love the BurgesS Bird and the Burgess Animal book

[Lillian J]

There are some lovely books by Margaret Weiss Brown.

There are also some really enchanting shorter stories of hers collected into several books. Here's Margaret Weiss Brown's Wonderful Storybook for as little as 3 cents used on Amazon. And it is "wonderful" - I've given it as gifts several times when I was lucky enough to come across it.

- Lillian

[SundayCrepes]

My son loves the Cat in the Hat Learning Library. They are non-fiction in that silly rhyming style. They are not "literary stories." Several of the books are about nature including: http://www.amazon.com/Say-Can-You-Se...2087609&sr=8-1

[Daffodil]

If you and your DD are okay with all the fighting and killing, The Jungle Book is wonderful in a similar way to Beatrix Potter - engaging stories about anthropomorphized animals who still act very much like real-life ones. I'd start with Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (which both my kids enjoyed at 3) and The White Seal, then eventually the Mowgli stories, which might not be quite as interesting to a very young kid.

Bambi is good, too. My DD liked it around the time she turned 4, though I think she might find it too sad now. It's pretty brutal - much more so than the Disney movie - but I really enjoyed it. (When I read it to DD, I mean - I never read it as a kid.) If your kid is at all sensitive, I'd suggest pre-reading it to see if you think it's okay.

For picture books, try anything by Byrd Baylor. A lot of them have cool illustrations by Peter Parnall. I love The Table Where Rich People Sit.

A couple of lovely books combining poems, facts about nature, and wonderful illustrations are Song of the Water Boatman and Other Pond Poems and Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow by Joyce Sidman.

Jim Arnosky has written and illustrated quite a few picture books about animals, both fiction and non-fiction. They're more straightforwardly factual than Beatrix Potter, but not as dry as Gail Gibbons.

Our Animals Friends at Maple Hill Farm and other books about Maple Hill Farm by Alice and Martin Provenson are great - they're mostly about farm animals, but with some bits about wild animals on the farm also. Another one we love about farm life, with parts about nature on the farm: My Farm by Alison Lester.

There are several Who's Been Here? books by Lindsay Barrett George showing kids finding animal signs, then revealing what animal has been there.

Some others:
When Spring Comes by Natalie Kinsey-Warnock
Fox's Dream by Tejima
Jack in the Bush by Barbara Giles
Howling Hill by Will Hobbs
A House in Town by William Mayne

[LuxPerpetua]

So much to digest! Thanks so much. I'm going to print out the suggestions and check what our library has to offer. I really appreciate your ideas, everyone!

[greenthumb3]

I know there are lots of good ones mentioned already, but here's one more. We just love "Mother Earth and her Children" over here. It's not exactly factual but is a good starting point for conversation about seasons and the life cycle of plants. I just really like the sweet poetry and amazing quilt work that is the book's illustrations!

ETA: I also recommend Eloise Wilkin's "My Big Book of the Outdoors". Lovely illustrations.

[Daffodil]

A book I love that I forgot to mention: A Pocketful of Cricket by Rebecca Caudill.

The Secret Garden is another great choice for a chapter book. (But 4.5 might still be a bit young for it.)

Neither of those books is the talking animal/fairy type - they're pretty realistic in the way they present nature - but they're not at all dry.

[LuxPerpetua]

Originally Posted by greenthumb3

I know there are lots of good ones mentioned already, but here's one more. We just love "Mother Earth and her Children" over here. It's not exactly factual but is a good starting point for conversation about seasons and the life cycle of plants. I just really like the sweet poetry and amazing quilt work that is the book's illustrations!

ETA: I also recommend Eloise Wilkin's "My Big Book of the Outdoors". Lovely illustrations.

We love Mother Earth and Her Children here too, as well as the original, The Root Children. You're right, great books!

[greenthumb3]

Originally Posted by LuxPerpetua

We love Mother Earth and Her Children here too, as well as the original, The Root Children. You're right, great books!