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You are here: Home / Archives for nature

What Do You See When You Look At a Tree? by Emma Carlisle

June 13, 2022 By achuka Leave a Comment

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Published in association with Kew.

What do you see when you look at a tree? Leaves and twigs and branches? Or do you see a real, living thing, that moves, and breathes and dances?

This wonderful picture book with exquisite watercolour and hand-finished artwork explores themes of empathy and personal growth through the eyes of a child. It urges readers to reconnect with nature by asking questions that encourage critical thinking and reflection on their own development, as well as helping to establish a deeper appreciation for the environment and their place within it.

Filed Under: Illustrated, NonFiction Tagged With: nature, trees

Our Time On Earth: From the Mayfly to the Immortal Jellyfish by Lily Murray ill. Jesse Hodgson

June 10, 2022 By achuka Leave a Comment

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We are all on Earth but for a fleeting moment, yet no two lives are the same. From the delicate mayfly, which lives for just a few precious hours, to the death-defying immortal jellyfish, this book about animal life cycles is a celebration of creatures big and small. Beautifully written by bestselling children’s author Lily Murray, the book explores lifespans across the animal kingdom, beginning with the very shortest, and ending with the longest. Learn about the lives of the incredible monarch butterfly, the mysterious axolotl, the grand Galapagos tortoise and many more in this uplifting and eye-opening book.

It has never been more important to appreciate and understand the diversity of life. Stunning illustrations by highly-commended artist Jesse Hodgson perfectly capture each animal in their natural habitat, making this the ideal gift book as well as educational.

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Filed Under: NonFiction Tagged With: animals, lifespan, nature

The Map of Leaves by Yarrow Townsend

May 26, 2022 By achuka Leave a Comment

ACHUKA Book of the Day 26 May 2022

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“An atmospheric and original debut.” Just Imagine

Debut children’s novel set in a world where plants talk, friendship is hard-won and adventure is around the bend of every river…

Orla has lived on her own since Ma died, with only her beloved garden for company. When sickness comes and nature is blamed, Orla knows she must find a cure. Armed with her mother’s book of plants and remedies, she steals away on a river boat with two other stowaways, Idris and Ariana. Soon the trio must navigate the rapids of the Inkwater to a poisonous place from which they may never return.

You can read the enchanting first chapter on the publisher’s website….

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Filed Under: BookOfTheDay, Fiction Tagged With: MG, middle-grade, nature

Mouse’s Wood by Alice Melvin

May 23, 2022 By achuka Leave a Comment

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Written in a gentle rhyme that reflects the slow pace of Mouse’s rambling journey, and illustrated in the inimitable style of Alice Melvin, this is a heart-warming celebration of slow living in nature.

The story follows Mouse, who first ventures out in wintry January to visit his friend Squirrel. Mouse moves on to wake up Hedgehog for the arrival of spring and as he continues along the path in the wood, Mouse’s journey from friend to friend maps out the changes in seasons from January through to December, from picnicking among the bluebells with Mole in May and picking berries with Dormouse in June, to taking refuge in Fox’s cozy caravan as winter draws in.

Follow Alice Melvin on Instagram, where shop posts lots of colourful pages from her sketchbooks:

 

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Filed Under: Illustrated Tagged With: nature, seasons, woodland, year

Be Wild, Little One by Olivia Hope ill. Daniel Egneus

May 10, 2022 By achuka Leave a Comment

ACHUKA Book of the Day 10 May 2020

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An uplifting picture book celebrating the wildness in all of us, and the beauty of the world all around us. Prepare for a heart-lifting journey through the beauties of nature: from pine forests to awe-inspiring mountains, and from sparkling seas to starry skies—each page is full of wonders. Fly across oceans, run with wolves through the mountain snow, dance with fireflies, and prepare to BE WILD!

With a lyrical text from debut author Olivia Hope, and stunning, immersive illustrations by Athens-based artist, Daniel Egneus, who has also illustrated The Friendship Bench, Tissa And The Blossom, Fox – A Circle of Life Story, Tibble And Grandpa and Lubna And Pebble

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Filed Under: BookOfTheDay, Illustrated Tagged With: beauty, nature, outdoors, wild, wildness

I Begin with Spring: The Life and Seasons of Henry David Thoreau by Julie Dunlap ill. Megan Elizabeth Baratta

May 6, 2022 By achuka Leave a Comment

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“[Dunlap] anchors the book solidly in primary-source material, following Thoreau’s copious recorded observations of nature, including his classic work Walden, crafting an insightful and vivid portrait for readers.” Horn Book
“[A] richly detailed field guide to Thoreau that offers older readers ample inspiration for outdoor exploration. Back matter includes further resources, notes on climate change, and instructions for creating a nature calendar.” Publishers Weekly
“The book’s layout approximates a nature journal; the pages are riddled with labeled watercolor sketches and handwritten field notes. Facsimiles of primary documents are interspersed throughout, bringing 19th-century Concord to life. A marvellous life survey of a perennially relevant historical figure.” KIRKUS

This illustrated biography weaves natural history around Thoreau’s life and times in a field notebook format that can be opened anywhere and invites browsing on every page. Beginning each season with quotes from Thoreau’s schoolboy essay about the changing seasons, Early Bloomer follows him through the fields and woods of Concord, the joys and challenges of growing up, his experiment with simple living on Walden Pond, and his participation in the abolition movement, self-reliance, science, and literature.

The book’s two organizing themes—the chronology of Thoreau’s life and the seasonal cycle beginning with spring—interact seamlessly on every spread, suggesting the correspondence of human seasons with nature’s. Thoreau’s annual records of blooms, bird migrations, and other natural events scroll in a timeline across the page bottoms, and the backmatter includes a summary of how those dates have changed from his day to ours and what that tells us about the science of phenology and climate change.

Megan Baratta’s watercolours are augmented with historical images and reproductions of Thoreau’s own sketches to create a high-interest visual experience. The book includes a foreword from Thoreau scholar Jeffrey Cramer, Curator of Collections for the Walden Woods Project.

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Filed Under: BookOfTheDay, How About, Illustrated, NonFiction Tagged With: biography, nature

Beautiful Useful Things: What William Morris Made by Beth Kephart ill. Melodie Stacey

April 11, 2022 By achuka Leave a Comment

ACHUKA Book of the Day 11 Apr 2022

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“The nature elements that appear as motifs throughout the artwork, coupled with detailed close-ups of the processes of whittling, sewing, and bookbinding, reveal just how much Morris’ art was connected to his appreciation of the beauty of the natural world. A harmonious picture book whose poetic text and delicate illustrations befit its subject.” KIRKUS

A poetic story about the life and work of William Morris, maker of beautiful, useful things, sure to engage young dreamers and artists.

William Morris is best known for his colourful wallpapers and textiles, inspired by English forests and wild foliage. But  this icon of the Arts and Crafts Movement was also a poet, a painter, a preservationist, an activist, an environmentalist, and a maker of many other beautiful useful things, like books.

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Filed Under: BookOfTheDay, NonFiction Tagged With: art, biography, design, nature, wallpaper

The Hunt for the Nightingale by Sarah Ann Juckes ill. Sharon King-Chai

January 19, 2022 By achuka Leave a Comment

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“…this fearless bok.” BfK 5-Star review

Discover the healing power of nature in one boy’s heartbreaking and hopeful journey back from the wilderness.

Bird fact no. 30: a nightingale song is one of the most beautiful sounds on the planet.

Ten-year-old Jasper has been waiting all spring for his beloved nightingale to return to his garden and sing. But it’s not there, and neither is his sister, Rosie. His parents seem sad and preoccupied so, gathering his courage, his backpack and his treasured Book of Birds, Jasper sets out alone on a walk to find them both. The expedition takes him through town and country, meeting a host of characters who are also searching for lost things. Helping his new friends, Jasper begins to see that he may not find what he is looking for when he reaches the journey’s end, but even in the darkest of moments, a nightingale’s song can be heard somewhere.

A love letter to the natural world.

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Filed Under: Fiction Tagged With: birdsong, journey, loss, MG, middle-grade, nature

Nature’s Treasures: Tales Of More Than 100 Extraordinary Objects From Nature by Ben Hoare

November 19, 2021 By achuka Leave a Comment

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Dive into this collection of more than 100 intriguing items from the natural world and discover the stories behind them. Learn how bristly mouths help huge whales capture tiny animals, how minute scales make butterflies shine in the sunlight, and how studying a leaf skeleton can tell us how it transports food. A bird egg, a lump of coal, a cacao pod, a mermaid’s purse, a fossil, a pine cone, an owl pellet, and a chrysalis – all tell a story.

Arranged into four chapters – Animals; Plants, fungi, and algae; Minerals and rocks, and Made by Nature, objects are shown with truly stunning photography and colourful illustrations to help explain the science behind them. The lively descriptions by best-selling nature writer Ben Hoare explore the remarkable tales of each item and all are packed with fascinating information.

Nature’s Treasures takes you on a tour of our planet through commonplace-but-incredible objects made by nature itself. This book is for every inquisitive child who loves to spot things when exploring outside and wants to know more about the wonderful and mysterious natural world.

Filed Under: Gift, How About Tagged With: nature

It’s Up to Us: A Children’s Terra Carta for Nature, People and Planet

November 19, 2021 By achuka Leave a Comment

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It’s Up to Us is based on the Terra Carta, a roadmap to sustainability issued by His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and his Sustainable Markets Initiative. The story explains in lyrical text how Nature operates in a world without humans. It then shows the damaging impact People have had on the Planet. It finishes by proposing a series of new pledges that we can all make – a Terra Carta – to help solve the problems.

This book has been developed in partnership with The Prince’s Foundation, a charity established by HRH The Prince of Wales to demonstrate how Nature can be put at the heart of human activities. Half of all the proceeds from sales will go directly to the work of the charity, based at Dumfries House in Scotland.

Filed Under: Gift Tagged With: conservation, nature, sustainability

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