Nature Play

Nature Inspired Children’s Books

Anne @ Let Me Be Free25 Comments

nature-inspired-books

I have read to my children since the day they were born. Now they are a little bit older they have a real love of books. We enjoy snuggling on the old rocking chair in the corner of the lounge room, reading books with the sun streaming through the window. It is a time I cherish as I feel really connected to my children.

Our house is full of children’s books, the bookshelf is over following. There are so many books to choose from however my little ones are always drawn to books about nature.

There are so many nature inspired books but this is what we are reading at the moment.

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt

Were going on a bear hunt.jpg

We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, follow the family as they go on an adventure exploring and looking for a bear. There are so many natural obstacles in their way but they don’t hesitate to get their feet muddy or wade through a river. I think children can relate to playing in long grass and squelching in the mud. When they finally come across the bear will they be brave or head for the hills?

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

The very hungry caterpillar.jpg

The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a classic that every child will love. Follow the caterpillar on his journey from a egg to a caterpillar and then into a beautiful butterfly. Not only will your children learn about the life cycle of a caterpillar they can learn to count. Beautifully illustrated with little holes where the caterpillar has been nibbling through food.

Bush Bash

Bush Bash.jpg

One dashing Dingo, where is he going? Follow the dingo as he goes on a journey. Along the way he meets other Australian animals who follow him to see where he is going. This is a counting book plus each page has hidden aboriginal artifacts. My children love going back over the book and searching for the hidden objects.

The Lorax

The Lorax.jpg

Our copy of The Lorax is looking very loved as it from the 70’s but it is still going strong! The Lorax talks of the dangers of cutting down trees and the damage it does to the environment.  The Once-ler cuts down a Truffula tree to make a Thneed which can be anything anyone wants. The Lorax warns of the dangers of cutting down the trees but they don’t listen and build a factory to make more Thneeds. Creatures that inhabit the area have to leave as there is no food for them and their water source is contaminated. Once the last tree is cut down the Lorax also has to leave.

It has a strong message to protect our environment. That is something I am passionate about and always educating my children that it is all of our responsibilities to protect the earth.

Hello Nature: Draw, Colour, Make and Grow

Hello Nature 034

Hello Nature book is filled with interesting facts about nature and lots of activities for the children to do. Some of the activities are simple things like collecting leaves and then drawing pictures of them. While other activities are more involved like making a bird feeder.

There is a section for each season and the activities relate to the relevant season. You don’t have to stick to the seasons as many of the activities can be done any time of the year.

Do you have a favourite nature inspired book for children?

** The links in this post are affiliated links. If you click to buy an item, I make a little commission but you don’t pay any extra. **

25 thoughts on “Nature Inspired Children’s Books”

  2. I love(d) reading and acting out Going On A Bear Hunt. I did this for many years with Infants classes and then with the grandkids. I got the CD of the story as well and it added to the book reading and using the illustrations for acting out the story. Of course, the words have changed…used to have something about a ‘gun’ decades ago when my now adult son was listening to this story if I recall. Great stories Anne! Thanks too for joining the link-up “Life This Week” on my blog this week! Hope to see you again. Denyse

    Like

    Reply

  8. We’re going on a Bear Hunt and the Hungry Hungry Caterpillar were among my children’s favourites. I preferred to teach them about nature than some of other topics – they’ll learn those other things soon enough, but nature is really important 🙂

    Like

    Reply

  11. These are such classics. I lost count of the number of times I read The Very Hungry Caterpillar to my kids. They absolutely loved it. And they also loved all the Dr Suess books. Nice post.

    Like

    Reply

  12. Hello Nature looks like a good one, and I hadn’t heard of it before! It will be ideal when my boys are a little older. My toddler loves reading, reading books to him as I feed the baby is how I spend most of my days!

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment