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

Stand Tall by Joan Bauer

By DeeDee
Stand Tall By Siena Siegel by Joan Bauer Putnam, 2002, 182 pgs Realistic Fiction Tree is 12 years old and over 6 feet tall. That would be great if he were a basketball player, but he is not. Dealing with his unusual size is not Tree's only challenge. Tree's parents have recently gone through a divorce, and his grandfather has had his leg amputated as the result of an old Vietnam War injury. The strength of this book is the characterizations. All of the main characters are dimensional and sympathetic. Bauer sets the characters in real and often funny family situations. Best of all is the character of Tree. He is boy with a heart to match his stature. This is a great book for boys or girls ages 9-12, as a read aloud or for individual reading. This book could also be a good Rx book for children whose families are going through divorce, or for anyone who feels like they don't fit in.
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: The New Girl

By
The New Girl By Cassandra Calin New York: Graphix, 2024. Comic. 261 pages. 12-year-old Lia and her family have just moved from Romania to Montreal, and she's doing her best to keep up with the changes. But, she's homesick. She misses the rest of her family, her friends, and her favorite Romanian treats. She doesn't speak French and her English is shaky, which makes it hard to make friends, even in her international immersion class. And she's dealing with super painful menstrual cramps every month. But before long, Lia starts to hit her stride. She befriends the other bilingual girls in her class, she gets a spot as the artist for her school's magazine, and even has a new crush -- Julien. Though she may be the new girl, Lia is starting to fit in. This slice of life graphic novel is an adorable choice for middle grade readers and young teens. Lia is a likable protagonist and readers will have little difficulty relating to her adjustment to school. The text speaks to a...
Post a Comment
Read more

Review: Cincinnati Lee, Curse Breaker

By
  Cincinnati Lee, Curse Breaker By Heidi Heilig New York: Greenwillow Books, 2025. Fiction. 291 pages. Thanks to Cincinnati Lee's no good, dirty rotten, artifact stealing great great great grandfather, Cincinnati's family is now cursed and Cincinnati feels like it's up to her to break the curse. Which involves trying to steal the artifacts back from museums that her grandfather robbed from graves and archeological sites around the world and return them to their countries of origin. But when Cincinnati's first artifact stealing mission goes awry, she decides it might be more effective to steal an all-powerful artifact herself that she can use to break the curse - The Spear of Destiny. Unfortunately her race for the spear will pit her against art smugglers and thieves intent on finding the ancient artifact themselves. If you are looking for an Indiana Jones read-alike, this is the perfect for you! Heavy on the adventure with similar levels of mysticism to those seen in th...
Post a Comment
Read more