It is time to bring you our latest and greatest reads from Struik Nature, it is a collection of great giftable books… for kids and their grown ups. We have been working towards creating a biodiversity haven in our garden for a while so the first book, Garden Birds in Southern Africa is a winner for us. Understanding Elephants has just become our go to gift for nature loving and environmentally conscious friends, it is a quick and fascinating read packed with elephant facts and information in spending time with them. Otherwise natural factual colouring books for the win!!!
Garden Birds in Southern Africa
Garden Birds in Southern Africa by Duncan Butchart: This is just the book we need, we might be living through a drought, and our garden is at its lowest ebb ever, but our birdlife is out of this world. Almost every day someone says, “What bird is that?” it really is time we learnt more about our local birds… and this is the book that is going to teach us. It is fantastic… The book begins with an introduction to bird friendly gardening and how to create habitats that birds will enjoy. There is a lot of information on bird habits and how to feed them sustainably.
The main section of the book contains a 101 birds found in Gardens around Southern Africa. Each bird gets a full page: A location map and size, beautiful full colour photographs, a detailed description, and a description of its habits, feeding, breeding, lifespan, and garden needs. We were most interested to read how we could attract different birds to our garden. There is also a chapter on which plants birds love, fifty local plants that are great bird magnets. This chapter contains trees would be good additions to your garden and what sort of birds are attracted to specific shrubs and creepers. This book is a great addition to our nature library and is perfect for those of us who want to get to know the birds in our gardens better and those of us who want to create a bird haven in our garden.
Understanding Elephants
Understanding Elephants by The Elephant Specialist Advisory Group: This book is a must read for anyone visiting a Game Park or like us, wishing they were visiting a Game Park. It is a small book that you can toss in your rucksack and read on your journey to your destination and it is absolutely packed with information about elephants. At a glance you will be able to tell how old the elephants you are viewing are, and you will have an idea about how to cope when you are in an area with elephants. Nine chapters: Elephant facts; Family groups and female behaviour; Male behaviour; Ecology and the environment; Communication; Neurology, Intelligence and the effects of trauma; Signals to look out for; Warning signs and signals of aggression; and How to conduct yourself around elephants. This book will provide you with a deeper understanding of elephant behaviour, from the nature of their relationships between each other, to the ways in which they react with people. It is a fascinating read, absolutely packed with facts… how they care for their babies, how they find their food… quite a bit about their favourite plants. Elephant lover’s and environmentalists alike will absolutely love this book and if like us you have never seen elephants in the wild then this book will make you want to get out there more than ever. The authors’ website www.esag.co.za has a lot of information as well as downloadable brochures for elephant viewing.
African Seashores
African Seashores by Sally Maclarty: The perfect book for sea shore loving kids, who want to know more about the rock pools that they are exploring. From Abalone to Zoanthids, and almost everything in-between… chitons and crabs, oysters and sea cucumbers. Beautiful colouring pages, with a short paragraph including an interesting fact for each animal. The facts are wild and wonderful and will elicit lots of “Did you know?” For example: “Sea Urchins: The urchin’s shell is round and covered with long spines, which help with defence. It’s mouth is underneath and it uses its extra-strong teeth to tear algae off rocks.” The centre pages have thumbnails of every page so that for those that want a guide to the seashore colours, but really the world of rock pools is magical and any colours will do. This book is part of a series of nature colouring books for kids with African insects, mammals, birds, frogs and reptiles available as well.
African Wildlife
African Wildlife to Read, Keep and Colour by Chalres Gotthard and verses by Amanda de Wet: This is a fun colouring book for kids who are passionate about animals and discovering the world, particularly animals in Africa. Each animal is presented on a double page spread, one side of the page is the animal to colour and the other is a poem filled with facts about the animals. This book would make the perfect gift for little friends overseas… and children with an adventurous spirit, who would like to explore wildlife in Africa.