Skip to main content

Books About the Great Outdoors

By
Sometimes, when it seems like winter will never end, I like to read books about nature to feel like I’m escaping outside, even when I’m stuck inside. In no particular order, here are my favorite picture books published in 2021 about the great outdoors.


Bea by the Sea
Written by Jo Byatt
Child's Play Inc, 2021. Picture Book.

Bea loves lions and hates going to the beach. At the beach she meets Sand Lion who teaches her not to be scared of touching the sand or the roar of the ocean. By the end of the day Bea loves the ocean and looks forward to visiting again.


Little Dandelion Seeds the World
By Julia Richardson
Illustrated by Kristen and Kevin Howdeshell
Sleeping Bear Press, 2021. Informational.

Did you know that dandelions can be found on all seven continents? This title teaches about how dandelions travel in the wind to spread from place to place. Even though this book is found in our informational section, it makes a great read aloud for children young and old. 




Hugo and the Impossible Thing
Written by Renée Felice Smith and Chris Gabriel
Illustrated by Sydney Hanson
Flamingo Books, 2021. Picture Book.

Everyone in the woods knew you couldn’t make it through the “Impossible Thing”, that’s how it got his name. Hugo asks his friends, one by one, if they had ever actually tried to make it through the Impossible Thing and they all admit that they haven’t.  With the help of his friends, Hugo climbs, swims, and pushes his way through the impossible thing and they find the most perfect place in all the forest. This book is an accessible way to talk with children about accomplishing things that may feel impossible.


Those Are Not My Underpants
By Melissa Martin
Illustrated by Troy Cummings
Random House, 2021. Picture Book.

Bear Cub finds a pair of underpants hanging from a tree and sets out to find the owner. He asks various friends if they are missing their underpants but finds that they don’t belong to any of his forest friends. If you are looking for a funny read-aloud about the great outdoors, give this one a try!



Written by Micha Archer
Nancy Paulsen Books, 2021. Picture Book.

In this title, two children walk through the forest, beach, mountains, and rivers while wondering about things such as if dirt is the world’s skin and if caves have mouths. The artwork is done in collage using tissue and patterned papers. On a cold day stuck indoors, try reading this book and making your own collages! 



Written by Terry Fan
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2021. Picture Book.

All of the insects are amazed when a marble falls from the sky. Everyone has a different idea about what the marble can be, but Spider knows that everyone will want to see it. With the help of his friends, he builds an amusement park so that insects far and wide can come see the marble, but keeps charging his friends more and more for admission. Spider learns the value of friendship and readers will love imagining what could be taking place in their own backyard.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

If You Like...KPop Demon Hunters

By
KPop Demon Hunters has been one of the most talked-about movies of the summer. If you loved this movie as much as I did, you don't want the magic (or the music) to stop. Try reading these books that touch on some of the same topics and themes as the animated hit! Brick Dust and Bones By M. R. Fournet New York: Feiwel and Friends, 2023. Fiction. 247 pages. Orphaned Marius works in the family business--as their cemetery's ghost caretaker. However, Marius also moonlights as a monster hunter in order to earn the costly Mystic currency he needs to bring his mother back from the dead. As the window to bring his mother back begins to close, Marius's exploits get more and more dangerous, and he may have set his sights on a monster too big to handle on his own. Like Mira, Marius longs for familial connection, and his work as a monster hunter will satisfy the thrill of demon hunting for fans the movie. Where's Halmoni? By Julie J. Kim Seattle, WA: Little Bigfoot, 2017. Comics. W...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The Memory Spinner

By
The Memory Spinner Written by C.M. Cornwell New York : Delacorte Press, 2025. Fiction. 281 pages. Fantasy is a genre that I don't often read. When I finish a good fantasy book, I always ask myself why I don't read more of them! This book made me ask myself that exact question. Lavender is a young girl who is struggling after the death of her mother. Her father doesn't like talking about the family's loss, and Lavender feels very alone in knowing how to grieve and cope with her feelings. Making the grieving process even harder for Lavender is the fact that she is struggling to hold on to memories of her mother.  The family runs an apothecary shop where Lavender is an apprentice. She has dreamed of her apprenticeship for a long time, putting in a lot of work to show her father she is a valuable asset. Unfortunately, while working side by side with her father, Lavender starts to notice that memories of her mother aren't the only thing she is having a hard time recallin...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Kareem Between

By
  Kareem Between By Shifa Saltagi Safadi New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2024. Fiction. 324 pages.  Kareem loves football and as he gets ready to start seventh grade he dreams of someday becoming the first Syrian American NFL player. Seventh grade is not off to a great start for Kareem, after football tryouts don't go as he had planned, his best friend moves away, and his mom returns to Syria to help bring his sick grandfather to the US for treatment. So when Austin, the quarterback and coach's son, offers to talk to his dad and get Kareem on the football team in the spring, if he will cheat and do his homework for him, Kareem agrees. Kareem really wants to fit in at school and he is desperate to find a friend, but deep down he knows that doing Austin's homework isn't the right thing to do. And to make things harder, Kareem's mom asks him to be a friend to Fadi, a Syrian Christian refugee. He knows he should stand up for Fadi and help him adjust to the new school,...
Post a Comment
Read more