From School Library Journal
Grade 4-8-This upbeat, eye-catching book will lure children into studying nature while having fun. Chapters on hiking, camping, plants and animals both large and small, shorelines, and exploring the world at night are filled with activities that could easily be enjoyed by youngsters on their own or prove useful to scout leaders, camp counselors, or parents. The projects include making a backpack out of jeans, building a tent out of tarps and a rope, observing wildlife through a camouflaged blind, creating collecting nets for insects, measuring the velocity of a creek, and preparing a plant-life journal. Beginning with lists of necessary items, the activities are presented in easy-to-follow steps. Colorful, crystal-clear photographs of young people decked out in the suggested gear and enjoying themselves outdoors enhance the text. Black-and-white sketches clarify topics such as how to tie knots and the differences between various bird beaks. The writing is conversational and engaging, and unexpected snippets of humor pop up throughout the text. The author reminds youngsters to collect, observe, and then return animals to their natural homes as well as to leave campsites and hiking trails the way they were found. This is a great beginning book for exploring the world outside. Complementary works include Henry W. Art and Michael W. Robbins's Woods Walk (Storey, 2003) and John Brown's Journey into the Desert (Oxford, 2003).
Pam Spencer Holley, Young Adult Literature Specialist, Assawoman, VACopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Gr. 3-7. Both casual and wildly enthusiastic, this readable guide is packed with practical detail about how to have fun exploring the natural world, from the backyard to the seashore to the forest to national parks. The attractive, browsable design, with color photos on thick paper, gives each large, double-page spread the appearance of a magazine article. There are short lists of "What you need" and "What you do," as well as suggestions about everything from using a compass and binoculars to getting up close and personal to wild animals, crawling insects, and plant life. The tone is never condescending or bossy; even the final appendix on taxonomy is playful. Several activities do recommend "an adult partner," though for some reason, there's no such suggestion when it comes to building a campfire. Despite that, this is a must for outdoor adventurers.
Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
