Daisy Rewilds -- New Picture Book

 

Disclosure: I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Have you seen all the social media posts about how we are killing off the bees and other insects as well as birds and other animals that eat the insects? Or maybe the one about how we spend so much time and money on our lawns, yet it is what is not native or healthy for our environments to have the green lawns. Today I am going to share a magical new book (released yesterday) with you about a little girl who decides to help nature rewild her neighborhood. The book is Daisy Rewilds by Margaret McNamara and illustrated by Kerascoët. It is recommended for ages 3 to 6.

About the Book:

A young, curious, science-loving environmentalist named Daisy proves to her community the importance of conservation in this whimsical and hopeful story.

Daisy was born with a green thumb. As an infant, she composted her own baby food. As a toddler, she slept on a bed of leaves. Now she’s embarking on her most important experiment: she’ll plant herself on her manicured front lawn, stay put, and let nature take over.

What happens is a blooming miracle.

With a little help from expert gardener Auntie Betsy, Daisy thrives. Sunflowers grow in her hair, moss grows between her toes, hummingbirds buzz in her bee balm. Soon Daisy’s front yard is a haven for native grasses and flowers, for pollinating insects, for birds, even for lowly worms. And that’s when her real work begins.

In this funny and whimsical story about restoring natural habitats, one tenacious girl passionately leads her own conservation efforts, helping the land heal itself, and teaching her community about the importance of nurturing wild places.

From Me:

In this fun book young Daisy is very environmentally conscious. She begins experimenting at a young age and stops taking a bath to see what will happen. First moss began to grow behind her ear after five weeks without a bath. Soon plants began growing in different parts of her body and insects move in. Eventually people begin to notice. Her parents comment and she tells them she is rewilding to help the land get back to nature. Eventually she plants herself in the yard. Her parents do not know what to do but call in her aunt who is the gardening expert. Their yard is full of blooming flowers and the neighbors come to see it. They speak about how amazing Daisy is and how they want their yards to do the same. This is what she has been waiting to hear. She spreads her plants throughout the neighborhood and tells people to just let nature grow and do her own thing.

I love that the family is mixed race and her class is diverse. The story shares the lessons many experts are trying to teach us. We need to let nature grow on its own. We need to stop spraying chemicals and find natural ways to grow our gardens and yards. We need to switch to native plants and not worry about all the weeds and making our yards look perfect. This book teaches about letting our world heal itself and let Mother Nature grow. 

This book is perfect for story times and classrooms. It is a fun story with an important message. It reminds me a bit of Alfred Blooms and The Wild Garden. And of course, any gardening book or activity would be perfect to go with this book.