If you have not picked up one of Jess McGeachin’s
books before, then now is your chance. Find me in
the Forest is the second in the ‘find me’ series and it does not disappoint.
The book begins by exploring the forests of Australia and their inhabitants before moving to other parts of the world. There are temperate forests, dry forests, tropical forests, and boreal forests, just to name a few. Each has their own set of characteristics and creatures that call them home.
Based on the cover alone you could be led to think that what comes next is a fanciful tale of a magical tree that grows presents of all kinds including bicycles but this is not the case.
A trusting Bella does as her Dad suggests and heads out to the garden but she is quickly disappointed when her tiny seed does not produce a bicycle, but a radish instead.
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This is a nature hide-and-seek, with double page spreads hiding animals. They're camouflaged in their surroundings -- leaves, trees, ground cover.
Illustrations are the centrepiece of Look, See, Find Me, and they're diverse and detailed, bright and beautiful.
Readers are encouraged to spot a variety of creatures.
Can you find the great green bush cricket and European mantis who blend in with a branch full of bright green leaves?
The Bee Squad is great for both children and adults. With almost 200 pages packed with information and ideas, it's the perfect resource for inter-generational activities.
Each of the nine chapters have a different focus. The first encourages learning about nature in your neighbourhood and being aware of the plants and animals around you.
You never know what you might find right under your nose.
This first chapter includes a nature quest to record what you find, plus tips and trivia about some of the environments you might be exploring
Other chapters build on information from the first.
Carnivorous plants hold many secrets.
They are eclectic with their food choices and are meat-eaters by necessity. Few are vegetarians.
Over time they have mastered the skill of catching the type of food they need to survive.
A good example is the Venus Flytrap, that
snacks on spiders, flies, and mosquitoes amongst other living delicacies.
Searching for Treasure by Johanna Bell and Emma Long is a beautiful walk along the high tide line of a beach.
The perspective throughout most of the book is looking down from a child’s height. With each step there are new things to discover. Look out for bluebottles though!
‘In the oldest rainforest on Earth, on the oldest
continent, a seed falls to the ground.’
With its
tactile, mixed media illustration style that has a particularly Daintree colour
palette and gorgeous loose yet flowing sensibility, there are pages upon pages of
incredible images and words to pore over and enjoy.
Travelling
through the Daintree from 200 years ago to the present day, we watch a Bull
Kauri pine tree grow up from being a tiny seed cone on the floor of the bush.
The Observologist is a 'handbook for mounting very small scientific expeditions'. It's packed with interesting and useful information and well-labelled diagrams and illustrations galore.
There are five main sections to dip into. The first is all about 'observology', or as the book explains, the study of looking. It can brighten up any number of situations including when waiting for your turn at something, or when there's a power cut.
Alight: A Story of Fire and Nature is a new book from CSIRO Publishing which explores how plants are 'reminded' to regenerate, and how animals look after themselves in times of fire.
We're all familiar with the result of unplanned bushfires. However, planned fire management of the bush is also crucial to the continuing of a natural life cycle. This book is a minimally-confronting exploration of it.
Fern Featherstone is not a city girl and when she has to move to London, she misses the green outdoors.
Her life changes dramatically, when on the plane to London she discovers a plant that can talk!
She ‘liberates’ it from a botanist who is secretly bringing it into the country. Fern names the plant Special. And so begins a series of unusual events.
On the way from the airport, Fern is driven through the Chelsea Coconut Grove, thought to have been planted by someone dubbed the Guerilla Gardener.
