Nature Book Project 2016 Archives

Posted on October 31, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

The Nature Handbook – Book Review

Nature Book Project 2016

This review includes Amazon.com affiliate links.

The book of the month is the The Nature Handbook by Ernest H. Williams, Jr. (ISBN: 9780195171945). This is book number seven in my Nature Book Project for 2016. It is a little heavier reading then most of the books I picked this year so I haven’t actually finished it yet but I will. The purpose of this book is to share the patterns and relationships in nature and not particular species like a field guide. It is organized into three main topics: Plants, Animals, and Habitats. Within these topics, it strives to show patterns that we can look for and learn from as we complete our nature study.

Many people ask me if I have suggestions for a more advanced “naturalist” course for high schoolers. This book is definitely a contender for that purpose.

The Nature Handbook Forest Wildflowers @handbookofnaturestudy — These early spring forest wildflowers demonstrate one of the patterns spoken about in *The Nature Handbook.*

Something I Really Enjoy About This Book

I am a very visual learner when it comes to nature study. Observing things up close and then reading about them with a guide or book that has clear large images is the way I learn the best. The Nature Handbook has over 500 color photos to supplement the easy to read text. Each time I sit down to use this book, I learn something new!

For instance, in the section on Forest Wildflowers (section 1.6), he explains that wildflowers must bloom before the forest canopy closes in with leaves above. This allows for sufficient moisture and high sunlight intensity through the leafless trees above. Reading this section of the book and reasoning on his words has helped me to understand the forest habitat more deeply. It makes my forest hikes in the spring now more meaningful.

Additional Features:

Over 200 specific patterns are discussed in this book! The topics could easily supplement any other nature study subjects you are learning about and works well with more advanced or older students.
The index is thorough and makes looking up a particular topic easy.
The images are labeled clearly and both common and scientific names are provided.
Short sections that would be easy to use for nature narrations for Charlotte Mason homeschoolers.

This is a book I will continue to read and use alongside the Handbook of Nature Study and my field guides for my own education as the years go by.

Just a note: This book is a little more expensive than most of the books I review. I do recommend it to my readers (especially as a nature library reference) but I think you should look for it at your library or purchase it used on Amazon.com.

This book is part of my Nature Book Project for 2016.

Note some of the links below are Amazon.com affiliate links.

January- Discover Nature Close to Home

February-A Place for Birds and A Place for Butterflies

March- A Crow Doesn’t Need A Shadow

April- The Practical Naturalist

May- Break month.

June-Botany in a Day

July- Rockhounding Nevada (postponed)

August- Break month.

September- The 10 Best of Everything National Parks

October- The Nature Handbook

November- Bringing Nature Home (postponed)

December- Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling

Posted on September 14, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Nature Book Project – 10 Best of Everything National Parks

Nature Book Project 2016

This is one of my favorite nature related books of the year! 10 Best of Everything – National Parks by National Geographic (ISBN 978-1426207341).

Our family loves to visit the national parks as a way of refreshment from our normal lives and as an adventure in the natural world whether it is close to home or far away on a vacation. Paging through this book puts the travel bug in gear and I start to plan in my imagination my dream road trip national park vacation. Honestly, the information and the images in this book inspire me to get outdoors and experience more of what our national parks offer. Isn’t that what a good travel book should do?

10 Best of Everything- National Parks caught my eye as I searched through Amazon.com and I purchased it as part of my nature book project for 2016. I set the book on my living room table which allowed us all to page through and read up on our favorite categories. The book is organized by categories that list the “10 best” from the national park system. For instance, in the category of Seasonal Enjoyment there are lists for best wildflower blooms, best fall foliage, best night skies, best sunrise/sunset points, best picnic spots, best sounds of nature, and best scenic drives. If you click the amazon.com link you can preview all of the 80 categories.

Shenandoah National Park 10 Best of Everything Review @handbookofnaturestudy — Shenandoah National Park – Best Cabins, Best Wildflower Bloom, Best Scenic Drive, Best Culinary Delights

Example showing how we used the book:

Using the index, we were able to look up specific national parks to discover where that park shines. We were planning a trip to Shenandoah National Park when the book first arrived and using the index gave us some great ideas for things to do and see on our visit. Shenandoah made the “10 best” in several categories which helped us make some choices before our trip about where to stay, how to plan our time, and what to keep our eyes out for as we traveled. We experienced the Skyline Drive (best scenic drive) each day as we moved from place to place and were rewarded with grand sweeping views of the surrounding hills and valleys. We were on the look out for wildflowers (best wildflower bloom). We stayed in the Skyland Resort cabins (best cabins). We drank Prohibition Punch at the Tap Room (mentioned in the best culinary delights section). Did we agree with the book’s selections? Yes!

I look forward to using this book with each national park visit. (If you want to read about our Shenandoah trip or any of our other national park trips, you can click over and scroll down to the list at the bottom of this entry: Shenandoah National Park.)

What I enjoyed about this book:

Helped us create a new national park wish list-things we want to see and experience after reading about them
Enhanced our visits with great information from the book’s categories
More than just a book of lists but it gave great descriptions and information about each park within a category
The index made looking for a particular category or park super easy

Short list of things that I see could be improved (getting really picky):

The book needs a map as a reference to easily show where all the parks are located.
Although the index is helpful and easy to use, I would love to have a chart that summarizes the parks and categories. This visual would have made it a lot easier to see at a glance where each park stacks up.
Also, I think when a park is chosen for a category, it would be helpful to have a symbol next to the name that would indicate which season is best for a visit to experience the park at its best.

I am thoroughly satisfied with this book and it will keep a place of honor on my nature book library shelf when it isn’t being used or sitting on my coffee table. Even if you don’t plan on traveling to many national parks in the near future, the information contained in this book is a wonderful way to learn more about the national park system.

Big thumbs up for this book!

This book is part of my Nature Book Project for 2016.

Note some of the links below are Amazon.com affiliate links.

January- Discover Nature Close to Home

February-A Place for Birds and A Place for Butterflies

March- A Crow Doesn’t Need A Shadow

April- The Practical Naturalist

May- Break month.

June-Botany in a Day

July- Rockhounding Nevada (postponed)

August- Break month.

September- The 10 Best of Everything National Parks

October- The Nature Handbook

November- Bringing Nature Home (postponed)

December- Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling

Posted on June 15, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

Botany in a Day – Book Review

This month I read and pondered over the Botany in a Day book, thinking about the suggestions given in this book for learning more deeply about the plants in my own habitat. Since it has been on my shelf for a few years, I am reviewing the fifth edition of the book. With the sixth edition, he added full color illustrations! (ISBN 978-1892784353)

It has turned my world upside down by showing me that there is more wisdom to using the patterns in the different plant families to identify a plant rather than by using the color and shape of the flowers. Most field guides organize their flowers by color and then by flower type. The Botany in a Day method uses the distinct attributes of a plant family to get you close in identifying a flower.

The author explains that by learning the most common and unique patterns found in plant families you will learn more about the plant…more than just a name.

There are a few pages at the beginning of the book that deal with plant names and classifications that I found rather interesting. There is a rather long section on the evolution of plants that I skimmed through quickly since it doesn’t interest me much.

Then the meat of the book helps you learn how to key out a plant using specific observations for every plant/flower. I think this is where the “botany in a day” title comes from…the method is easily understood in a day, not the learning of everything there is to know about plants. I can see how focusing first on the most common plant families first will help you get started with applying the method of identification, building your confidence to learn more families after that. The most common families are highlighted in the index and the author suggests you start with those.

I love that you are to learn about a plant family and then go out and look for plants that fit the pattern right in your own yard and neighborhood. The author also suggests paging through field guides to train your eye to see the patterns.

You will be seeing me work through this book in the months to come. I hope to learn one family at a time (starting with the mustard family) and then apply what I learn in my day to day observations of plants both in my yard and along the trails of California.

Additional Information

You can find the official website here: Botany in a Day (with a video)
This book is applicable to most of North America.

This book is part of my Nature Book Project for 2016. I purchased this book with my own money and am providing my honest opinions about the book.

Note some of the links below are Amazon.com affiliate links.

January- Discover Nature Close to Home

February-A Place for Birds and A Place for Butterflies

March- A Crow Doesn’t Need A Shadow

April- The Practical Naturalist

May- Break month.

June-Botany in a Day

July- Rockhounding Nevada (postponed)

August- Break month.

September- The 10 Best of Everything National Parks

October- The Nature Handbook

November- Bringing Nature Home (postponed)

December- Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling

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Posted on May 19, 2016 by Barb — 2 Comments

Nature Book Project – The Practical Naturalist

Nature Book Project 2016

This entry includes my Amazon.com affiliate link. I purchased this book with my own money and am providing my personal opinions about this book.

Somehow I missed writing a review for this book in April but I am making up for it this month! The Practical Naturalist published by DK and Audubon is a strikingly visual book. Its image rich content is appealing to all ages and the text is written in a way that concentrates lots of information in short easy to read snippets. (ISBN: 978-0756658991) This entry includes my Amazon.com affiliate link. I purchased this book with my own money and am providing my personal opinions about this book.

The subtitle really explains the foundation of this book: Explore the wonders of the natural world.

It tackles many of the fascinating aspects of the natural world around us, organized by habitat. This book is not like the Handbook of Nature Study which organizes its lessons by specific topics but rather it creates a close up picture of a sampling of the plants and animals that you may encounter in a particular habitat.

Habitats Covered:

Close to Home
Forest
Farm and Field
Scrub land and Heath
Grassland
Mountain and Hillside
Lake, River, and Stream
Coast
Tundra and Ice
Desert

Quick Thoughts on The Practical Naturalist

I tend to like to study things by habitat so I enjoyed the way the material was organized.
The images are large and colorful. There are even some “sideways” two page spreads which are a nice way to present the material.
The vocabulary is rich and creates a basic understanding of more complex biology-themed ideas.
I would consider this a living book because it intersperses text, images, and activities in such a way that the topics come alive for the reader. It would make a great foundation for a natural science or nature study course for children perhaps 10 years old and up. I could see how this book would have been a wonderful read aloud with my younger children as well.
One possible negative about the book is that it will require additional research to thoroughly cover each topic. This is not meant to be a nature encyclopedia.

I think this book is a great addition to a nature study reference library that you will use over the years as the opportunity arises. Nature loving kids would like to have a copy of their own to read and flip through at their leisure. Perhaps in the future I will use this book as a supplement to the Handbook of Nature Study plans!

This book is part of my Nature Book Project for 2016.

Note some of the links below are Amazon.com affiliate links.

January- Discover Nature Close to Home

February-A Place for Birds and A Place for Butterflies

March- A Crow Doesn’t Need A Shadow

April- The Practical Naturalist

May- Break month.

June-Botany in a Day

July- Rockhounding Nevada

August- Break month.

September- The 10 Best of Everything National Parks

October- The Nature Handbook

November- Bringing Nature Home

December- Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling

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Posted on March 30, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

A Crow Doesn’t Need a Shadow – Book Review

“Every place, creature, or event in the natural world provides an opportunity for wondering and writing.”

If you have a child that is finding it difficult to add some creative writing in their nature journals, this is just the resource you NEED. I am going to keep it alongside my Handbook of Nature Study volume to remind me to pull it down whenever I have a hard time putting words alongside my nature sketches.

This month I have been working my way through this nature related book, A Crow Doesn’t Need a Shadow. I have had it on my shelf or a long time but it hasn’t been given justice as far as implementing the ideas on the pages. [Please note there are Amazon.com affiliate links in this post to books I purchased with my own money and am happy to share my honest review for here on my blog!]

I am so happy that I took the time to look more closely at this book. It is a great inspiration for a nature journal which I desperately need…I’ve been going through a dry spell as far putting words on paper. It reminds me just how much I love to play with words and nature inspires much word play.

Intrigued? Here are some further points about this book: A Crow Doesn’t Need a Shadow.

This book focuses on the writing of poetry in a way that you can help even the youngest writer to get started. You will be gathering words and building on those words in an organized way. The sections are step-by-step instructions on how to write a particular kind of poetry and there are plenty of examples from children of all ages to sample and inspire you.
There are whole sections dedicated to keeping a nature journal.
My favorite parts of each “lesson” are the Questions and Thoughts to Explore and the Suggestions for Writing. These give concrete suggestions for completing the poem writing ideas.
You can use this on a field trip or in your own backyard!

This book is part of my Nature Book Project for 2016.

Note some of the links below are Amazon.com affiliate links.

January- Discover Nature Close to Home

February-A Place for Birds and A Place for Butterflies

March- A Crow Doesn’t Need A Shadow

April- The Practical Naturalist

May- Break month.

June-Botany in a Day

July- Rockhounding Nevada (postponed)

August- Break month.

September- The 10 Best of Everything National Parks

October- The Nature Handbook

November- Bringing Nature Home (postponed)

December- Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling

Posted on March 16, 2016 by Barb — Leave a comment

A Place for Birds and Butterflies – Book Review

A Place for Butterflies and A Place for Birds are two of the books in the series written by Melissa Stewart (see all books in this series on her website). I first saw these at a gift shop at a national park and was tempted to purchase them because of their gorgeous illustrations (done by Higgins Bond). These award winning books were my February selections for my Nature Book Project for 2016.

Please note that the above amazon.com links are affiliate links. I purchased these books with my own money and have written an honest review.

Along with the beautiful illustrations, I really enjoyed the concept of how to create in our local communities a space and place to nurture the native butterflies and birds that make their homes there. Specific birds and butterflies are discussed along with a location map and interesting facts.

The main message of this series is how we can combat the negative effects some practices and progress can take on the habitat where the birds and butterflies need to live. For instance in A Place for Birds, there are suggestions that people put up decals on their windows so birds don’t fly into them and even provide nesting boxes for birds.

I would love to share both of these books with the young people in my life. From start to finish, I found these books to be a delight and they are now resting on my picture book shelf for any young visitors to my home to enjoy. I can imagine sitting on the sofa with a child alongside me as we page through and enjoy the words and illustrations together.

Additional Information:You can find teacher’s guides for both books on this page of her website: Curriculum Guide for A Place for Birds and A Place for Butterflies.