My first memories are of sitting in the garden munching strawberries off the vine as my grandfather picked vegetables. Dad’s days off meant a trip to the nature reserve or sledding the town slopes. Vacations were for jumping in waves and exploring tidepools. Mom collected antique children’s books and instilled a passion for reading. When not exploring the woods across the railroad tracks with friends, I was reading. Childhood and my passion for nature intersect in my writing in two of my other books, A Beach Tail and Circles of Hope. Nowadays, my routine includes writing in my woodland cabin and daily hikes with my flat-coated retriever, Lowani.
This book is about nature and winter, about owling and hope. Every page is like a poem, and I can feel the winter gentle, silent as a dream. I love the details that are so real to me: long shadows on snow as white as milk in a cereal bowl.
I hear the train in the distance as farm dogs answer in a song. I can relate so vividly that this book gives me shivers. I know that feeling of a scarf over my mouth, wet and warm and furry. Meant to be read over and over, I still delight in finding animals unexpectedly hidden in the winter night. The subtext about bravery, patience, and hope in the relationship between father and daughter brings tears every time.
Late one winter night a little girl and her father go owling. The trees stand still as statues and the world is silent as a dream. Whoo-whoo-whoo, the father calls to the mysterious nighttime bird.
But there is no answer.
Wordlessly the two companions walk along, for when you go owling you don't need words. You don't need anything but hope. Sometimes there isn't an owl, but sometimes there is.
Distinguished author Jane Yolen has created a gentle, poetic story that lovingly depicts the special companionship of a young child and her father as well as humankind's close relationship to…
I want to be Miss Rhumphius! She followed her dreams of adventure in exotic places and accomplished her dream of living by the sea. Like my grandfather, Alice’s grandfather came to America by ship. He once told Alice she must help make the world a more beautiful place. And so I dream and plan my garden. After a long winter, Alice takes a walk and finds the wind and birds have transported lupine seeds from her garden to the hillsides.
Now, on her walks, she tosses lupine seeds across the land where brilliant patches of blue and purple spring up between the rocks along lanes and highways. Soft hues help weave a story of seed distribution (I’m writing about that now!), the beauty of nature, a grandfather’s immigration, and a strong woman.
Alice made a promise to make the world a more beautiful place, then a seed of an idea is planted and blossoms into a beautiful plan. This beloved classic and celebration of nature—written by a beloved Caldecott winner—is lovelier than ever!
Barbara Cooney's story of Alice Rumphius, who longed to travel the world, live in a house by the sea, and do something to make the world more beautiful, has a timeless quality that resonates with each new generation. The countless lupines that bloom along the coast of Maine are the legacy of the real Miss Rumphius, the Lupine Lady,…
This simple story offers an intimate view into the life of a hermit crab who has outgrown his shell. He travels along the shore, by the sea in the sand…scritch-scratch, scritch-scratch looking, looking. The lyric repetition I strive for in my own writing helps build tension. The hermit crab needs a place to hide from the prickle pine fish.
I can feel that sandy beach in the illustrations and I have walked there where Hermit Crab encounters a rock, a rusty tin can, driftwood, and an old bucket. None of these make a house for Hermit Crab. I can relate to the satisfaction of a journey’s end. In a new home that is not too heavy or too noisy, not too dark, not too crowded. A safe new home that fits just right. Something we all look for.
Follow a hermit crab on the perilous journey to replace his outgrown shell in this classic picture book by the author of the popular Judy Moody and Stink series.
Hermit Crab has outgrown his shell, and it’s time for a new home to keep him safe from predators. The beach is strewn with possible choices, but none are quite right. A rock is too heavy; a tin can is too noisy; a fishing net has too many holes.
He stepped along the shore, by the sea, in the sand . . . scritch-scratch, scritch-scratch
I love snow! I love this book. The simple collage illustrations support a simple childhood experience that captures my childhood winter as much as it does the delight my grandchildren take in snow. I love that this is nature experienced in a city setting. It was a quiet day for making footprints in the snow, feet pointing out, and feet pointing in. The crunch, crunch, crunch, a stick just right for smacking snow-covered trees.
I want to climb into this book and be that child. And oh, the memories of a snow day, not a holiday but a day filled with magic like no other, a day to fully explore and enjoy the season, the natural world. The excitement I feel even now when snow falls at night, promising another snow day.
The magic and wonder of winter's first snowfall is perfectly captured in Ezra Jack Keat's Caldecott Medal-winning picture book. This celebrated classic has been shared by generations of readers and listeners, a must-have for every child's bookshelf and a perfect gift for the holiday season.
New York Public Library's #1 book on the list of "Top Check Outs of All Time"
In 1962, a little boy named Peter put on his snowsuit and stepped out of his house and into the hearts of millions of readers. Universal in its appeal, this story beautifully depicts a child's wonder at a new…
Birds are an important connection to nature for me. Like Mr. Flynn, I sometimes wonder if all my adventures are behind me. I remember thinking as a child, like Ollie McPhee, that nothing interesting ever happens. And I know the excitement of catching a glimpse of a bird I have not seen before. Or just hearing a new bird call. The silliness in text and illustrations is not usually my style, but I keep coming back to this book.
It is a fun escape into the natural world that incorporates how to keep a birding journal and information about the Snowy Owl, who is part of the plot. The end pages top off my love of this book with engaging illustrations identifying twenty birds and their habits.
This humorous graphic novel picture book shares an unexpected friendship between a young boy and his elderly neighbor as they discover they have a lot to learn from each other.
As an elderly man wonders if his days of adventure are behind him, across the street a young boy is struggling with boredom. But then everything changes when they run into each other outside and, after a bit of commotion, get caught up in the pursuit to document an elusive snowy owl in the woods behind their houses.
As the day unfolds, they get to know each other better and…
Bear leaps in Autumn leaves all red and bronze and gold, piles for miles. But when winter comes, it’s time for bed. Leaves float through Bear’s dreams, and the forest does its work. Soon, snowmelt runs in rivulets and ruts, and tree sap flows as forest animals squish and squoosh in Springtime muck.
Bear wakes ready for play, but where have the leaves gone? Did Mama clean up? Did Deer eat them? Illustrations full of quiet joy follow the work of the forest through the seasons as worms nibble and chew. Beetles, snails, and slugs munch, too. Autumn returns, and Bear frolics in leaves again, helping the forest do its work. An author’s note describes the importance of decomposition and suggests ways you can help the forest, too.
Not So Little Things by Kyle Ann Robertson unravels the meticulously crafted life of Tina, an artist engrossed in the intricate world of historically accurate miniatures. As she dutifully honors her deceased father's desire for her to follow in his artistic and historical footsteps, Tina's controlled existence is shaken by the emergence of long-buried secrets when she takes a commission to build a replica of Jake Martin’s family mansion.
Robertson navigates the delicate balance between Tina's devotion to her father's wishes and the disruptions caused by revelations from the past. The novel beautifully explores the complexity of familial expectations and…
Tina Edwards loved her childhood and creating fairy houses, a passion shared with her father, a world-renowned architect. But at nine years old, she found him dead at his desk and is haunted by this memory. Tina's mother abruptly moved away leaving Tina with feelings of abandonment and suspicion. Raised by her loving, wheelchair-bound Aunt Liddy, her father's sister, 33 year old Tina has become a miniature room artist and cherishes the control she has over her life in Northeast Georgia as she works hard to please her beloved dead father's wishes of following in his footsteps in art and…
