This week I spent three days in the woods in Vermont with some of my students. Every year our school goes on a field trip to an outdoor center in Vermont. The high school students can choose to go for two nights and the middle school and 5th and 6th grade are required to go for four nights. The time there is tech free for the kids. The goals are team building, bonding with one another and getting them out of their comfort zones. For many it is the first time they are away from their parents for this length of time. As much as I hate being away from home, it is a great experience, and I always enjoy it a bit more than I think I will. It is important for everyone to get into nature and enjoy it. Today I am going to share two new picture books about nature and uses your senses and imagination. The first is Tree Spirits Around the World words and photographs by Louise Wannier and illustrated by April Tatiana Jackson. It is recommended for ages four to nine but could work with any age.
About the Book:
AUTHOR OF AWARD-WINNING, TREE SPIRITS • Teachers are calling it ‘The Antidote to Screen Time’ • TREE SPIRITS AROUND THE WORLD reintroduces readers to Tilly (the curious mouse from Book One: Tree Spirits) and follows her as she searches for kindred spirits across the planet.During this journey, which spans ten different countries and six continents, Tilly helps children explore and appreciate the diversity our planet has to offer, and the spirits that tie us together.
With the full-color photographs, each paired with charmingly illustrated overlays, and stiff paperback binding, TREE SPIRITS AROUND THE WORLD’s high-value format makes it highly giftable.
From Me:
This book is so interesting. After meeting Tilly, Tilly travels around the world and shares trees from around the world. With each tree there is Tilly in a boat with the country's flag that the tree can be found. The book shares a bit about the tree and then asks the reader to share what they see in the photograph. On the next page is the same photograph but with an acetate page with a sketch over it sharing what Louise Wannier and April Tatiana Jackson see in the bark. The book is wonderful!! There are also pages at the end with photos of other trees for the reader to make their own sketches of what they see. There is also a sketched world map with photos of the trees around where they come from. This book shares so many ways to explore. You can explore the different types of trees as well as the countries they come from. You can also have wonderful discussions about what each person sees in the bark and is it the same as the author's vision. You can also take a nature walk and look for things in other trees. I was telling my students about this in Vermont. We looked at this tree. I saw a horse's head but one of my students felt it looked more like a deer head. What do you think? Can you see where we saw the animals?
We did many walks in the woods, so I took pictures of many trees. We were going to explore and try to learn how to identify the types of trees but changed the lesson to how to use a compass. Before the change I asked the students to look for tree spirits with me on that exploration. They were so into it. However, they also really enjoyed learning about how to use a compass, so it was a good change. I also told some of the outdoor center's employees about the book. They loved the idea as an activity to add to their options. This book is just beautiful, and I love how it gets people looking at nature in a fun way and growing their imaginations. It is a bit magical in how it is presented. Tilly continues to ask the reader what they see. She expresses how much she is curious about what each person sees. It is a must check out and great for at home or any classroom! Below is another tree from Vermont where I see a bear. What do you see? Get outside and look for the tree spirits in the trees around you! Plus, this book is an amazing gift for a child, a teacher, a family and more!
Our next book was released this week. It is a book about experiencing the season changes with one's senses. It is I Hear the Snow, I Smell the Sea by Janice Milusich and illustrated by Chris Raschka. It is recommended for ages four to eight.
About the Book:
In this lyrical picture book illustrated by a two-time Caldecott Medalist, share in a blind child's joyful experience of the changing seasons.Where I live, seasons change. I know because my fingers and toes, my ears, my mouth and nose, all tell me so.
Neveah is blind, but that doesn't mean she can't enjoy each of the four wondrous seasons of the year.
She knows it's winter when her boots go scruuunch in the snow and cold flakes land softly on her tongue.
She knows spring has come by the smell of hyacinths, the bzzzz of a bee in her ear.
Summer is a trip to the beach, where she can hear the crash of ocean waves and the keowww of seagulls overhead.
And when Neveah's rake goes scritch scratch over fallen leaves and the air turns brisk, she knows it's autumn. Soon the cycle of seasons will begin anew.
In this poetic story with art by a two-time Caldecott Medalist, join Neveah as she uses her senses of touch, taste, hearing, and smell to vividly describe the changing seasons and the unique delights they each have to offer.
From Me:
In this book we meet a young girl who happens to be blind. Her name is Nevaeh. She talks about how she uses her other senses to identify when the seasons change. The book goes through the four seasons and Nevaeh describes the sounds, smells, tastes and feels of each one. She describes different activities she does in each season as well. In winter she and her mother make a snowman, in spring she smells the flowers and hears the bees and birds, in summer she goes to the beach, and in autumn she helps rake the leaves and plays in her piles. When each of us stops and uses our other senses besides sight we can experience the seasons in the same way.
The illustrations are colorful, and each season has the typical colors on the pages. I love how the book explores the seasons with different senses. It reminds me of some of the books we enjoyed when Hazel was younger and used our senses to explore like Let's Take a Walk on the Beach, Blue Sky, and the newer one, Vivienne in Paris. I love books that get kids using all of their senses to explore the world (and especially the natural world). The obvious thing to do with this book is take a walk outside no matter what season and explore what scents, sounds, feelings, etc. there are. Are they what Nevaeh experienced or something different? In autumn a leaf craft would be perfect. In spring a flower craft is great. In summer a beach craft is perfect and in winter build a snowman or make a snow craft. This book is a wonderful way to experience and learn about senses and the four seasons. It is perfect for at home, school, or a story time at a library or store. For more ideas (books and crafts) about the seasons check out here.
There is a free download activity pack on Random House Children's website to go with this book.
