Se7en’s Book of the Week: A First Book of Nature…

I know we post tons of book collection posts, but some books are so spectacular that they deserve their own post… and this book is indeed one of them. As soon as I saw this book I popped it straight onto my list of essential childhood books.

A First Book of Nature is by Nicola Davies and illustrated by Mark Herald. Every single Nicola Davies book has been a keeper in our house, but this book I have to say again is essential. Get hold of a copy from the library from your local bookstore, read it… read it again, dip in and out of it and page through and dream… leave it on the coffee table for young folk to enjoy and dream a little bit too… because it is somewhat dreamy. You can meet Lindsay Davies at her website here, and you can meet the illustrator, Mark Hearld over here.

The book is a big square paperback of the sturdy variety… absolutely packed with inspiring illustrations… collage prints that feel quite classical, and reminded me of reading children’s encyclopaedias when I was little. The book is divided into four seasons… filled with poems and very easy things to do. Not to mention something new and lovely to discover on every spread. It has quite a whimsical feel to it, filled with beautiful and inspiring poetry that little people will enjoy along with the person reading to them… you can really only read a page or two and then ponder a little bit, before wandering deeper into the book.

1. Spring: You will want to go for a spring walk and look for tadpoles, and plant some seeds and maybe create some compost.
2. Summer: Looking out for butterflies, pond dipping and rock pooling, things to do in your den.
3. Autumn: Lots of things to look out for, how to make a berry crumble.
4. Winter: Beachcombing and saving seeds, and making bird cakes.

If you or your small people find yourselves stuck indoors and unable to motivate to get outdoors, even though you know it is the right thing to do… this book will inspire you to bundle up and get out there when it is cold, and to find a shady spot when it is warm. This is the perfect book to toss in your bag and head outdoors with a blanket for a read. This is a book that deserves to be lived in, take it down to the shore and read about rock pooling, take it with you when you go gathering leaves… this is a book that is perfect inspiration for nature notebii

Thank you so much to PanMacmillan South Africa for the copy of A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies for review purposes. This is not a sponsored post, we were not paid to create it and the opinions expressed are, as usual, our own.