Environmental Books Archives

This summer has been brilliant. Most days it’s been nice enough to go outside to play and explore. It’s been a brilliant summer for enjoying the great outdoors and learning more about nature. We’ve been reading lots of nature books, doing some nature-based crafts, some scavenger hunts, and reading lots of nature books. My son has thoroughly enjoyed himself, and I have too.

I’ve picked out six of our favourite nature books for children which we’ve been enjoying this summer. Do you have a favourite nature book?

Six Brilliant Nature Books for Children

six Brilliant Nature Books for Children

Hello Nature by Nina Chakrabarti is a wonderfully illustrated 160 page nature scrapbook. It’s full of interesting facts and activities to help you explore and learn more about nature. The book encourages you to “draw, colour, make and grow” all over its pages. Hello Nature is aimed at children aged 7-11 years, but it’s so beautiful it would make a great present for anyone interested in drawing or painting nature. You can read our full review here.

My RSPB Nature Clipboard by Eryl Nash and illustrated by Hannah Tolson is a great place to start discovering more about the nature in your neighbourhood. Learn to make bird and butterfly feeders, a minibeast hotel or a windowbox garden. Become a nature detective and head outside with your clipboard to explore the nature on your doorstep. Use the spotter sheets to identify birds, plants, animal tracks and much more, and record what you’ve found on your beautifully illustrated poster. The perfect gift to engage nature-lovers and budding bird-watchers with the wildlife all around them.

The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane. We’ve just returned home from the Just So Festival which had an area in the woods set aside for a piece about this most wonderful nature book. Inspired by the decision to remove fifty ‘nature’ words from the Oxford Junior Dictionary to make way for what are mainly transitory, computer-based words such as ‘broadband’ and ‘chatroom’. Author, Robert Macfarlane wrote this book to celebrate some of the lost words, such as dandelion, conkers, otters, adders and other wonderful nature words. This is beyond a shadow of a doubt the most beautiful nature book I have ever laid eyes on. Full of wonderful illustrations and thought provoking poetry, it’s a real treat for nature lovers!

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt: My Adventure Field Guide by Hannah Pang. Inspired by and featuring artwork from the original We’re Going on a Bear Hunt story by Michael Rosen, this field guide to the natural world is informational and fun. Eager readers will discover a wealth of facts about plants and animals, bugs and birds, clouds, the night sky, the weather and so much more. The book features facts galore, but also recipes, science projects and tips for how children can help protect the environment. Whether swishy-swashing through the grass, or squelch-squerching through the mud, there’s something here for everyone. You can read our full review here.

i-SPY Nature: What Can You Spot? We love this i-SPY series of books. They’re little pocket-sized spotter guides which are great to take out for the day. This nature book is a really fun activity book encourages kids to explore outdoors; from down by the sea to town and country animals, in search of i-SPY points. A fun, interactive way to encourage curious children to learn about the world around them.

The Big Book of Bugs by Yuval Zommer is a great introduction to the creepy crawlies with lots of tips on how to become a young bug spotter. The book is divided into key groups of bugs; including beetles, moths, butterflies, bees, snails, crickets, grasshoppers, worms and spiders, all wonderfully illustrated. It’s a real treasure trove of information, and can you spot the hidden fly on each page? Can you?

If you enjoyed this round up of nature books, you might also like our pick of five books about the environment.

Six Brilliant Nature Books for Children

Taking care of our environment and doing our bit to look after our planet is something we’ve always talked about with our son. We’ve always been keen recyclers and I’m known for being a bit frugal with the gas and electricity. Over the last few months the boy has been learning more about the environment both at school and at Beavers. It doesn’t hurt to reinforce the message at home too, so we’ve been doing some reading about the subject. We’ve got lots of great books about he environment and with Earth Day just around the corner, here are our five favourites.

Five Books about the Environment for Earth Day

Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth by Oliver Jeffers. Like all of Oliver Jeffers’ books Here We Are is a beautiful, heartfelt story, it’s about the wonder of our planet and about how we should love it and care for it. It’s a simple story with a big message and one which children will enjoy reading and sharing with you. It’s a book about kindness and respect and care.

Five Books about the Environment for Earth Day

Compost Stew: An A-Z Recipe for the Earth by Mary McKenna Siddals. Composting is one of the first environmentally friendly things I learned to do as a child. It’s a really easy introduction to learning more about the environment and climate change. How do you start a compost pile? What’s safe to include? This book is perfect for Earth Day reading and provides answers for children and families looking for simple, child-friendly ways to help the planet.

The Coral Kingdom by Laura Knowles and Jenny Webber celebrates the beauty, diversity and fragile ecosystem of the coral reef. This visually stunning picture book has a strong ecological message about the need to protect this most precious environment. Follow and explore the life cycle, diversity and colour of the coral reef ecosystem; learn about the threats the reef faces and what we can do to save it. Each beautifully illustrated page is packed full of delightful sea creatures to discover and enjoy. A beautiful book with a powerful message.

Look out for Litter by Lisa Bullard is part of the “Planet Protector” series. This Look out for Litter book shows how little pieces of litter and rubbish can become a big problem. Find out how to deal with litter responsibly and learn how to reduce, reuse and recycle.

This is Our World by Emily Sollinge. This lovely board book for smaller children is printed on recycled board and uses vegetable ink! Take little ones on a fun interactive journey learning to clean the air, reduce pollution, recycle, and much more. It’s never too early to learn to care for the environment!

Do you have any favourite books about the environment you like to read with your children?

If you enjoyed this, you might also like my Five Superb Books About Science.

Five Books about the Environment for Earth Day