Children’s Nature Books We Love
Our children, and I believe all young children, have a constant curiosity regarding nature; they want to know about all the animals and landscapes, and all about the seasons. Their passion for our world has really rubbed off on us and in turn, has led to us all learning together.
The more we learn in books the more we go outside and the more we go outside the more we want to read nature books. It’s the best kind of never-ending cycle! The curiosity of children is endearing and contagious and a reminder that learning is a constant joy.
These are some of the books we are currently enjoying on a daily basis.
Slow down by Rachel Williams
A collection of short nature stories with the most beautiful paintings on every page.
Each double-page has a different nature subject, varying from butterflies and ladybirds to rainbows and thunderstorms. This book is educational and covers a wider variety of topics than most children’s books. It also goes into greater detail but is still accessible to younger readers due to the many pictures and subtext alongside the stories.
Usborne Lift-the-Flap Nature
This covers a different topic on each page, is perfect for younger children and can be a great way to find topics they are interested in. It showed me that my little boy loves ducks and that both of them love the seaside.
Usborne Poppy and Sam’s Nature Spotting Book
This is our absolute family favourite. It has beautiful pictures with a page on leaves, one on birds, one about trees, one on woodland animals and it is laid out in a really accessible way with lovely simple facts about how to identify them.
Who’s Hiding at the Seaside? And Who’s Hiding on the River?
We have two of these beautiful National Trust books and they are fabulous. Grandma and Grandad got these for our Bears as they absolutely love nature and while there are a lot of farm and jungle books for babies/toddlers these books offer a different landscape with different animals to learn about. It’s got lots of sturdy flaps and on the underside of each one is the name of the animal and an interesting fact about it.
When ours were babies and wanted to move faster through the book I’d just give them the name of the creature under the flap. As they get older they are more interested in the facts underneath and talking about them in more detail.
If you have any family favourites that help spark imagination and a love of being outside please do share them, because as much as we adore the above books, reading anything 10+ times a day will make you want to branch out!
Livvy and Summer
