There is a new edition to the My First Book of… Nature Series for curious children of all ages, from Struik Nature.
My First Book of Southern African Caterpillars, butterflies and moths.
I was so excited to receive this book for review, and brought back fond memories of so many nature outings, with this entire series. This series is the essential natural history reference guide for South African children and should be available in every South African school and library, not to mention, a fabulous addition to any homeschooling science and nature book collection.
So this series of books is truly South African, written in English, Afrikaans, isiZulu and isiXhosa. 56 different caterpillars from around Southern Africa are introduced with bold full-colour illustrations. Each page has its own caterpillar and is packed with facts about their size, their pupa, if they are poisonous or cause itching, where to find them and an illustration of the butterfly or moth, that they will become.
The introduction in these books is always brilliant, this one shows you the body parts of a caterpillar as well as the texture. In fact the book is divided up into eight texture categories: bristly, fuzzy, hairy, loopers, smooth, spiny, warty and weird, to help with quick identification, for those outdoor adventures that require speedy identification.
Otherwise the introduction includes the lifecycle of caterpillars and other pertinent facts, that apply to caterpillars, and a useful guide on how to use the book as a quick reference book.
This book, and in fact this series, is really brilliant and is a fabulous addition to our well-loved, Struik Nature bookshelf.
For young nature lovers and eager science observers, to get into the art of nature note booking, this series of nature guides is a great place to start. This is a life-skill that will stand your kids in good stead for many years to come.
If you want to get into nature journaling with your kids, then here is a blogpost on how we did Nature Journaling as a family. If you are really keen to get into nature journaling with your kids, but feel like you need extra guidance then then look no further than John Muir Laws for weekly video classes, or if you prefer topical studies, dozens of video lessons on almost any topic you can think of.
This book was given to us for review purposes by Struik Nature. This is not a sponsored post and opinions expressed are entirely our own.