Nature Books for Winter Reading Catherine Greenleaf - Lyme, NH
W
hat could be better than a mug of hot chocolate, a blazing fire in the fireplace, a cozy chair and a good book to read? Here are some wonderful brand-new books about the natural world to give as gifts for the holidays, sure to delight youngsters and adults alike.
Kids
MY TINY LIFE BY RUBY T. HUMMINGBIRD by Paul Meisel. (Ages 4-8) Holiday House. Hardcover. $17.00. Children will love following the enchanting diary entries of a feisty, little hummingbird who chronicles his exciting experiences, from the time he hatches from the egg, to learning to fly for the first time, to his migration to Costa Rica. Delightful and colorful illustrations.
Teens
DIARY OF A YOUNG NATURALIST by Dara McAnulty. Milkweed Editions. Softcover. $16.95
GRANDMA LISA’S HUMMING, This moving memoir from adolescent BUZZING, CHIRPING GARDEN climate activist Dara McAnulty chronicles by Lisa Doseff/Illustrated by Duncan Robertson. (Ages 5-10) Pollination Press, LLC. Hardcover. $17.95 This children’s book, full of charming illustrations of flowers, tells the rhyming story of Grandma Lisa and her grandchildren and how they plant and grow a native flower garden to benefit butterflies and their larvae, only to excitedly discover their garden is benefitting all wildlife. The book details in a fun way the critical role insects play in pollination, in rebuilding the soil microbiome, and in providing vital protein for birds.
18 4 Legs & a Tail
the passing of days in nature outside his Northern Ireland home near the Mourne Mountains. Each diary entry makes note of the trees, birds, insects and mammals he witnesses and how his deep connection to the wild fuels the energy he pours into his global campaign to save the natural world. A Buzzfeed Best Book and winner of the UK’s prestigious Wainwright Award for nature writing.
THE STORY OF MORE: How We Got To Climate Change And Where To Go From Here (Adapted for young adults) by Hope Jahren. Little, Brown (Fleet imprint). Softcover. $14.99
Award-winning scientist and teacher, Hope Jahren, gives an eye-opening yet hopeful look at our future as a planet and a species. As E.O. Wilson has said, Earth may be the only life-bearing planet within ten light years, and by acting now to curb climate change, we can save ourselves and our beautiful home. As Jahren herself says: “It’s not a choice between decimation or preservation. The reality lies in the uncomfortable middle.” Winter 2022
