Customer Reviews

Keeping a Nature Journal: Discover a Whole New Way of Seeing the World Around You

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

What makes this book so great? It is partially a nature journal itself, yet it is full of *real* ideas for your notebooks. I love the authors' drawings and comments, and how they help you draw well with small exercises. I was amazed at how well I could draw a bird after doing the bird sketches they recommend. They include sidebars with annectdotes of teaching approaches. They suggest ways to make a note book your own, to make it more interesting, and to make it more scientific, too!

Some of my favorite pages in the book are city or country landscapes, including houses and buildings. The authors remind us that humans are part of nature, and what they build is too, just as a wasps' nest is. A drawing of a street in Cambridge MA made me a bit homesick...but it also reminded me that this would be our last year with a cabana at the beach. I started documenting our days there, and rather than take photos, I tried to record our days in pictures I drew. These are not amazingly Rembrant-esque, but they accurately reflect the days we spent. With a bit of help from this book, I was able to capture perspective and shadowing as I drew my children and the local flora and fauna, and add comments as I draw--the time and temperature, what the animals are doing, when the last rain fall was, or how I felt. The entries in this notebook include the buildings and benches, the fences and the kites--everything it take s to capture a scene.

Leslie and Roth talk about different types of notebooks, with examples. Seasonal notebooks capture the changing wilderness; scientific notebooks record observations with commentary. A notebook may include only flora or fauna. It may record a journey or special occasion.

A nifty section includes a discussion of materials and tools for drawing. Leslie demonstrates pens vs. pencils and markers, drawing the same leaf with several different tools. She tells us her preferences, but leaves us to choose for ourselves.

One side-bar includes the author's reflexion on teaching nature journaling: When asked about drawing in an nature notebook, one second grader said, "Well, I can draw the sky." That's how I felt about drawing...and yet that phrase says so much about nature notebooks. The sky is so big, yet so simple. I think this sums up the whole book. Keeping a nature notebook is so simple, yet such a big part of our education.

Okay, this is a winner! If you do NOT have it on your bookshelf then get it! This has become one of the required textbooks for many of my courses. (Visit my Amazon page for more information.)

It is flat out beautiful -- the beauty is that it is filled with the illustrations and notes by the authors. The book delves into the questions you might have, doubts that might arise -- and those get answered but the book allows and encourages creativity and growth through the nature journal process.

You'll find hints for what tools to pick for your illustrations and notes, tips for observing, what information you might want to include, how to overcome your critical mind, beginning drawing exercises and tips on how to enchance your creativity. You'll find a seasonal section that gives some good suggestions for documenting natural changes and events. Later there are more drawing exercises on shading, drawing flowers, anatomy, landscapes, etc. There are also samples of different journal techniques, tips on how to set up a nature study, how to keep records, how to journal for a scientific study or biological research project and still more!

Toward the end of the book group journaling and exploring is discussed. What you will also find are valuable tips for quizzes, writing, science, art, history, music and math projects. The suggested reading list and assessment scale for the journal or porfolio are also vital resources within this book.

If you are not convince now you never will be! One of the best personal journaling _and_ teaching books I've encountered this last year.

What a beautiful guidebook...it's lavishly illustrated with the authors' own nature sketches and comments so that you can really get a feel for what a nature journal is all about. Not only will you be keeping a record of the world around you, but you will be learning to see that world with new eyes. It's so easy to glide over the tiny details that make life truly remarkable...by taking the authors' tips and lessons to heart, you will find yourself paying deeper attention to the little things.

You definitely don't have to be an artist (I'm not, by far) to be able to keep a journal of this type. In fact, there are several basic drawing exercises included that will help you develop some skill, even if you think it's hopeless. The important thing is to stop and smell the roses...and then draw them.

This book inspired me to start my own nature journal and gave me the confidence to draw in it! Wonderful, encouraging and instructional. If I can draw nature, then anyone can!

This beautifully illustrated and printed book will inspire both the amateur naturalist and the teacher. Leslie and Roth make the process of nature journalling easy to understand and to present to others. Their detailed observations encourage the reader to really look, to really see.

I coordinate outdoor workshops for women to provide them the opportunity to learn new skills. We hosted a new class,Nature Journaling, and the instructor needed a book to suplement her curriculum. I selected this book based on the Amazon recomendations and further research. Both the instructor and participants loved the book. It was very helpful and useful once they left the workshop.
I think this book is a great resource in any EE/nature/writing library.

Our family loves this book - we love the examples from actual nature journals and it has really inspired myself and my children to keep our own nature journals. As we do so, we come to have a better appreciation for the amazing creations all around us. The author really helps to encourage even budding artists to keep nature journals, which helps some of the more timid artists in our family.

Not a journaling guide but an inspiration to draw and record in a journal. Her artwork and ability to capture the moment is simply amazing - and should be since she is a professional artist. Better than the pictures is her persuasion that you can also draw and record the world around you. Many types of journals are discussed with suggestions of organization, etc but the strength is not the information but the encouragement to DO.

If you are interested in scientific journaling, or looking for an instruction manual I do not think you'll be happy with this book. It is light on drawing technique but heavy on simple tips to get you drawing. If you desire to draw nature and record what you see/experience but don't think you can or are afraid of what your pictures will look like this will be a book you'll treasure and refer to often.

I bought this book unseen hoping to get some good ideas for a curriculum development project for elementary school kids I'm working on. I wasn't disappointed. This is a beautiful book. It's well written by 2 authors who are obviously passionate about the subject matter. Reproductions of Leslie's journal pages throughout the book also help you see the sorts of things that are possible and are a real inspiration. Her images are often quickly drawn and a little on the rough side, suggesting that anyone with a few minutes, a few colored pencils, a blank book, and a love for nature is capable of making a gorgeous nature journal. The book covers ideas for how to start a nature journal, the kinds of equipment you need, things you might want to keep an eye out for, and suggestions for improving your artistic skills. As I'd hoped, there is also a section for eductators who wish to use nature journals to teach people, young and old, about nature and the environment in which they live.

This book contains a lot of great information and the images from Leslie's journals are amazing. I think anyone who is into nature journals (as I am) would appreciate this book, as well as those who wish to start one.

I love this book- the art is absolutely beautiful and the general layout really shows it off. It talks about how to begin nature journaling, giving tips on both starting the habit and learning to draw! I love the approach it takes, fostering a closeness and syncronicity with nature and its cycles!