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"When I was young, my friends and I spent hours playing in the woods, chasing bugs in the fields, catching frogs, searching tide pools, and climbing trees. We didn’t realize it at the time, but we were bonding with nature. We were experiencing the fascination, excitement, and joy to be found in nature---not to mention getting physical activity. I am afraid that kids (and some adults) today are disconnected from the outdoors. Without this bond, people are far more likely to pollute, ruin the environment, and allow the extinction of certain plants and animals."
Peggy Kochanoff in the preface of
You Can Be a Nature Detective
Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv has started an international back-to-nature campaign, telling teachers and parents that direct exposure to nature is essential for a child's healthy physical and emotional development.
Missoula is fortunate to have several places that encourage adults and children to learn together in the out-of-doors---the Montana Natural History Center offers classes; this summer MOLLI offered courses for grandparents and grandchildren; and the Pea Green Boat features Byron Weber once a month talking about bugs. Now two new books offer hours of fun and activities to make naturalists out of children (and maybe a few adults).
YOU CAN BE A NATURE DETECTIVE written and illustrated by Peggy Kochanoff, published by Mountain Press, encourages you to Look, Listen, Touch, and Smell as you ask questions and solve the mysteries of nature. Features include:
Leaves are turning colors, why is this happening? Let’s look closely.
Where you learn that all leaves have green, orange, yellow, red and brown pigments but as the tree prepares for winter it no longer makes chlorophyll so the other colors appear—the last one being brown.
There’s a terrible smell, what could it be? Let’s sniff closely and find out.
Skunk, Stinkbug, Skunk cabbage and Fox can all be answers to this question.
There are some marks in the woods, Who could have left them? Let’s look closely
Clues reveal several animals have been in the woods including---Yellow- bellied sapsucker, beaver, red squirrel, porcupine, deer and rabbit.
Author/Illustrator Peggy Kochanoff uses watercolors and informative text to explain ways to investigate the wonders of Mother Nature. All chapters end with the phrase, Mystery Solved! The text and drawings are not too technical, but give lots of information.
At the end of the book is a section called Fun Things to Do in Nature where you are encouraged to try to build a nest, examine owl pellets and track animals (if you do not have wildlife in your neighborhood follow your dog or cat).
A glossary and suggested resources complete the book. Teachers, parents and grandparents can learn along with the child of their choice by using this book and staying alert when they venture outdoors.
Did you know that there are more than 20,000 different kinds of bugs in the state of Montana?
That's just one of the first things you will learn in BUG FEATS OF MONTANA by Deborah Richie Oberbillig, illustrated by Robert Rath published by FarCountry Press.
The book begns with The Buzz on Bugs--facts like: What are they, why do they matter, what do they eat and even bug parts. Next come Bugster tips: Walk slowly. Listen. Look for clues. Get up close. Turn on a light at night.
For the bug-squeamish there are jokes:
- What is a grasshopper’s favorite year? (Leap year)
- What does a caterpillar do on New Year’s Day? (Turns over a new leaf!)
There are also quotes from literature by likes of Emily Dickinson, E.B. White, Annie Dillard, A.A. Milne. One of my favorite quotes is:
"Dreams are brought to us in our sleep by a butterfly."
-Blackfeet belief.
The Bug Feats include: Jumping, Speeding, Buzzing, Building. Winter Survival, Eating, and Tunneling--plus Feats inside your house and Feats of deception.
Robert Rath's illustrations cover all parts of the pages and add to the humor and education of the text. This is another welcome addition to FarCountry's Explorer Series and to your nature library.
Barbara Theroux is the manager of Fact & Fiction, now part of the Bookstore at the University of Montana.
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