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Nature Study & Journaling

Between global warming, holes in the ozone, and the pollution of our seas and rivers, maybe it is best to keep kids indoors and pacified in front of the television....but probably not. If these aren't real threats then there's nothing to protect our children (or ourselves) from, and if they are real threats—all the more reason to instill a love of nature in the younger generations.

Kids have an inclination toward exploration and learning. Allowing them to do so encourages not only active bodies and active minds, it fosters a healthy imagination and love of beauty. Charlotte Mason understood this over a century ago, and developed a system of education in which nature study played a prominent role. It is in nature, more than in the classroom or the rec room or even the library, that children best learn by observation, and this habit once formed will never disappear.

The often-referenced "childlike wonder" inherent in all of us from a young age (though modern society seems to be stamping it out quicker and more efficiently) isn't just some esoteric feeling of awe. It's literal wonder—kids wonder how birds fly, why their pet dog's fur falls out in summer, where ants go in the winter, why it gets colder and harder to breathe the higher you get. The less contact they have with the natural world, the less wonder they'll have; but the reverse is also true, and kids allowed to roam and explore the outdoors will develop a sense of inquisitiveness that can only help them in the so-called "real world."

Preparation for the Real World of modern myth often takes on peculiar guises. Children are snatched from the fields and streams and placed in front of computer screens or television sets. They are crowded into classrooms and made to feel good about the fact that they are learning nothing at the same rate as everyone around them. They are given plastic toys with supposed educational properties and made to "play" with them under close adult supervision.

Meanwhile, the real real world waits outside the walls and doors and windows with its fresh smells, its colors brighter and more unique than anything on HDTV or Blu-Ray, its real wind, and its endless mysteries. If you don't like answering questions, don't want your kids to grow or exercise, prefer fat and lazy to fit and intelligent offspring, by all means somberly prepare them for a life without questions, and consequently without answers. If you want children who will grown into thoughtful adults with a sense of the loveliness of Earth and their place in it, keeping them inside is possibly the most dangerous choice you can make on their behalf.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.
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100 Things You Should Know about Mammals
by Jinny Johnson
from Barnes & Noble
for 2nd-5th grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
1001 Bugs to Spot
by Emma Helbrough
from Usborne
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
102 Favorite Audubon Birds of America
by John James Audubon, text by Roger Tory Peterson
from Artabras Publishers
for Adult
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
44 Animals of the Bible
by Nancy Johnson
from Master Books
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Bible Study & Reference for Kids (Location: BIBR-STU)
$9.59
Adventure with Olivia Owl
from Silver Dolphin
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Look and Find Books (Location: PIC-LOOK)
Africa's Vanishing Wildlife
by Chris & Tilde Stuart
1st edition from Smithsonian Books
for 5th-10th grade
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
African Critters
by Robert Haas
from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
Album of Birds
by Tom McGowen
from Rand McNally
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Album of Dinosaurs
by Tom McGowen, illustrated by Rod Ruth
from Rand McNally
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Album of Reptiles
by Tom McGowen, illustrated by Rod Ruth
from Rand McNally
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Album of Sharks
by Tom McGowen, illustrated by Rod Ruth
3rd Printing from Rand McNally
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Album of Whales
by Tom McGowen, illustrated by Rod Ruth
from Rand McNally
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
All About Animals and Their Young
All About Books #25
by Robert M. McClung
from Random House
for 4th-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Bible Animals
by Simona Piscioneri
from Good Book Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Bible Study & Reference for Kids (Location: BIBR-STU)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
All About Birds
All About Books #11
by Robert S. Lemmon, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
1955 Edition from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Cats
All About Books #58
by Carl Burger
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Dinosaurs
All About Books #1
by Roy Chapman Andrews
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
All About Dogs
All About Books #42
by Carl Burger
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Fish
All About Books #34
by Carl Burger
from Random House
for 4th-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Great Rivers of the World
All About Books #22
by Anne Terry White
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Horses
All About Books #43
by Marguerite Henry
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Moths and Butterflies
All About Books #15
by Robert S. Lemmon, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Mountains and Mountaineering
All About #41
by Anne Terry White
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Strange Beasts of the Past
All About Books #17
by Robert S. Lemmon
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
All About Strange Beasts of the Present
All About Books #19
by Robert S. Lemmon
from Random House
for 3rd-8th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About the Desert
All About Books #21
by Sam & Beryl Epstein, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About the Insect World
All About Books #6
by Ferdinand C. Lane
from Random House
for 4th-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About the Jungle
All About Books #29
by Armstrong Sperry
from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Whales
All About Books #8
by Roy Chapman Andrews
from Random House
for 4th-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
American Eagle: A Photographic Portrait
by John Pezzenti
from Viking Studio Books
for 6th-12th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
American Wild Life
1952nd edition from Wm. H. Wise & Co.
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Amphibians and Reptiles of the Pacific States
by Gayle Pickwell
from Stanford University Press
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Ancient Ones
by Barbara Bash
from Sierra Club Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Botany & Mycology (Location: SCI-BOT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Animal Babies in Grasslands
from Kingfisher
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Animal Behavior
Life Nature Library
by Niko Tinbergen
from Time-Life Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Animal Behavior
Life Nature Library
by Niko Tinbergen
1970 printing from Time-Life Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Animal-Go-Round
by Johnny Morris
from DK Publishing
for Nursery-1st grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Animalium
by Jenny Broom, Illustrated by Katie Scott
from Big Picture Press
for 3rd-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$19.00 (1 in stock)
Animalium
by Jenny Broom, illustrated by Katie Scott
from Big Picture Press
for 4th-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$37.99
Animalium
by Jenny Broom, illustrated by Katie Scott
UK Edition from Big Picture Press
for 4th-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$19.00 (1 in stock)
Animals do the Strangest Things
by Leonora & Arthur Hornblow, illustrated by Michael K. Frith
from Random House
for 1st-3rd grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
Animals of the Bible
by Isaac Asimov, illustrated by Howard Berelson
from Doubleday & Company
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Animals Without Backbones: Invertebrates
Come Learn with Me
by Bridget Anderson
from Charlesbridge
for 4th-6th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Answers Book for Kids Volume 2
by Ken Ham
from Master Books
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Worldview & Apologetics for Kids (Location: BIBWV-APK)
$6.39
Ants
Usborne Beginners
by Lucy Bowman
from Usborne
for 1st-2nd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
Apes and Monkeys
by Deborah Dennard, illustrated by John F. McGee
from Northword Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Mammals (Location: SCI-MAM)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Aquatic Insects and How They Live
by Robert M. McClung
from William Morrow & Company
for 1st-4th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Arboretum
Welcome to the Museum
by Tony Kirkham, illustrated by Katie Scott
from Big Picture Press
for 4th-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$37.99
Audubon's Birds of America
by John James Audubon
from Macmillan
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
Audubon's Birds of America
by John James Audubon
from Galahad Books
for Adult
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
Audubon's Birds of America
by John James Audubon
from Abbeville Press
for Adult
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
Awesome Facts About Animals
by Leanne Sarkisian and Karina Altman
from Answers in Genesis
for 1st-4th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Babes and Cradles
by Maud Wolcott Spalding, illustrated by Lucile Patterson Marsh & Anita Parkhurst
from Southern Publishing Association
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Baby Whale Sharp Ears
by John Y. Beaty, illustrated by Helene Carter
from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for 2nd-5th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Back Roads of Oregon
by Earl Thollander
from Clarkson Potter Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Back Roads of Washington
by Earl Thollander
from Clarkson Potter Publishers
for 9th-Adult
in Pacific States (Location: HISV-PNW)
Backyard Birds
by Dr. Janann V. Jenner
from MetroBooks
for Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Bag in the Wind
by Ted Kooser, illustrated by Barry Root
from Candlewick Press
for 1st-3rd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Bald Eagle
by Gordon Morrison
from Walter Lorraine Books
for Kindergarten-3rd grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
Bambi's Forest
by Joanne Ryder, illustrated by David Pacheco and Jesse Clay
1st edition from Disney Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Forests & Mountains (Location: SCI-FOREST)
$4.80 (1 in stock)
Be Nice to Spiders
by Margaret Bloy Graham
from Harper & Row
for 1st-3rd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Beach Before Breakfast
by Maxine W. Kumin, illustrated by Leonard Weisgard
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Vintage Picture Books (Location: VIN-PIC)
Beak Book
by Robin Page
from Beach Lane Books
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$18.99
Bees and Wasps
Usborne Beginners
by James Maclaine
from Usborne
for 1st-2nd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
Beetle Book
by Steve Jenkins
from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
$16.99
Beetle Is Shy
by Dianna Hutts Aston
from Chronicle Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Nature Study & Journaling (Location: NAT-GEN)
$16.99
Beginning Knowledge Book of Backyard Trees
by Hanniford Rush; illustrated by Raul Mina Mora
from Rutledge Books
for 2nd-4th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Between the Tides
by Fran Hodgkins
from Down East Books
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Big Book of Big Animals
Usborne Big Books
by Hazel Maskell
from Usborne
for 1st-3rd grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
Big Book of Big Bugs
from Usborne
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
Big Red Kangaroo
by Claire Saxby, illustrated by Graham Byrne
from Candlewick Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
in Mammals (Location: SCI-MAM)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Big Tree
by Mary Buff, Conrad Buff
1st Edition from Viking Press
for Preschool-2nd grade
1947 Newbery Honor Book
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Biography of a Rhino
by Alice L. Hopf; illustrated by Kiyo Komoda
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$44.00 (1 in stock)
Bird Families of the World
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Bird's Eye View: The Natural World
by John Farndon and Paul Boston
from Words & Pictures
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Nature Study & Journaling (Location: NAT-GEN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Birds and Their Feathers
by Britta Teckentrup
from Prestel Verlag
for 3rd-6th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
Birds at Home
by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by Jacob Bates Abbott
from M. A. Donohue & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Birds Do the Strangest Things
by Leonora and Arthur Hornblow, illustrated by Michael K. Frith
from Random House
for Preschool-3rd grade
in Step Up Books (Location: VIN-STEP)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Birds Every Child Should Know
by Neltje Blanchan
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Birds of America
by T. Gilbert Pearson (editor), illustrated by Louis Agassiz Fuertes
from Doubleday & Company
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Birds of Prey
A Grosset All-Color Guide
by Glenys and Derek Lloyd, Illustrated by Ken Lilly
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 9th-Adult
in Field Guides: Birds (Location: NAT-FG01)
Black Bear Cub
Smithsonian Wild Heritage
by Alan Lind
from Soundprints
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Mammals (Location: SCI-MAM)
Bombus Finds a Friend
by Elsie Larson, illustrated by Elizabeth Haidle
from Master Books
for Kindergarten-2nd grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$3.20 (2 in stock)
Book of Birds Volumes I & II
by Gilbert Grosvenor & Alexander Wetmore (editors), illustrated by Major Allan Brooks
from National Geographic
for Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Eagles
by Helen Roney Sattler, illustrated by Jean Day Zallinger
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
Book of Small Mammals
by Ted S. Pettit, illustrated by G. Don Ray
from Garden City Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Botanical Painting in Watercolor
by Billy Showell
from Search Press
for Adult
in Painting Instruction (Location: ELE-ARTPAI)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Botanicum
Welcome to the Museum
by Kathy Willis; illustrated by Katie Scott
from Big Picture Press
for 3rd-12th grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$37.99
Boy Who Drew Birds
by Jacqueline Davies
from Houghton Mifflin
for 1st-3rd grade
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.29
Bringing Back the Wolves
by Jude Isabella; illustrated by Kim Smith
from Kids Can Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ecology (Location: SCI-ECO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Bubo: The Great Horned Owl
by John L. and Jean George, illustrated by Jean George
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Bufo
by Robert M. McClung
from William Morrow & Company
for Preschool-1st grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Bug Dictionary
from Tangerine Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Bugs
Usborne Beginners
by Lucy Bowman
from Usborne
for 1st-2nd grade
in Usborne Beginners (Location: SCI-USBREA)
Bugs Big & Small God Made Them All
by William Zinke
from Master Books
for Kindergarten-4th grade
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
$13.59
Bumper Book of Nature
by Stephen Moss
1st edition from Crown Trade Paperbacks
for 1st-Adult
in Hiking & Outdoor Adventures (Location: NAT-HIKE)
Burgess Bird Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$28.99
Burgess Flower Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$28.99
Burgess Seashore Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-5th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$29.99
Butterflies and Moths
Golden Library of Knowledge
by Richard A. Martin
from Golden Press
for 1st-5th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
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