In an age where children (and the rest of us) are increasingly attached to electronic devices, getting kids excited about the outdoors can only be to their benefit. Bugs, Bogs, Bats, and Books by Kathleen T. Isaacs connects us with children’s books whose topics relate to the natural world. This annotated bibliography lists over 300 nature-related children’s books representing multiple genres. I felt that the organization and ease of use suffered as a result of too broad a topic, but overall this resource successfully offers a sampling of the valuable children’s books currently in print related to the great outdoors.
Bugs, Bogs, Bats, and Books begins with a discussion of the importance of environmental education and literacy. Between school, athletics and organized activities, young children often have surprisingly packed schedules. Teachers, parents and librarians should be on the lookout for opportunities to encourage children’s spontaneous and organic exploration of the world. The author also provides detailed advice to assist in the selection of appropriate children’s books about nature. Much of this advice, such as evaluating the age appropriateness of the book, considering the child’s interests, assessing the narrative style and difficulty of vocabulary words, analyzing the illustrations and checking for accuracy of information, can be applied to most children’s books on any subject. The author also makes a point early in the text to explain the deliberate omission of children’s books that emphasize the harmful effects of human interaction with nature. Some may believe that awareness is part of the learning experience, but the author explains that children can easily become disheartened when confronted by the negative realities of some environmental issues. This text is meant to encourage positive interest in nature.
The biggest challenge with using this resource is the organization. The author explains that the selections have been organized into “rough categories” and that the book should not be read using a linear path. However, I had trouble distinguishing a clear organizational hierarchy. This made navigation challenging, even when referring to the table of contents. Some chapter headings indicate subject-based organization such as the Habitats and Plants and Trees chapters, some are genre-based such as the Poetry and Biography chapters, and some are based on the intended audience such as the Books for Babies and Toddlers and Books for Adults chapters. Within each chapter, there are various subject, genre or age-range categories, but it was not always clear which of those was dominant. Some entries could fit under multiple headings and categories. For example, A Little Book of Sloth by Lucy Cooke was in the Animals in Captivity chapter. It could also have landed in the Mammals section of the Animals chapter. The entry for Out of This World: Poems and Facts about Space by Amy E. Sklansky is found in the Some Special Times and Places section of the Poetry chapter. It could also have been found in the From the Earth to the Sky and Beyond chapter. It seemed like the children’s books were selected first and then the headings were created around them. The Wolves Are Back by Jean Craighead George is found under the subheading entitled And Three Books about Wolves. While that subheading is clearly accurate, it is not (at least to this reviewer) intuitive.
Part of the challenge with the organization may come from the expanse of the topic. The tagline for this text is “Sharing nature with children through reading”. The children’s books selected cover too many concepts throughout the life and earth sciences including plants, animals, individual naturalists, habitats such as forests and oceans, garden and backyard wildlife, weather and space. This text may have been easier to use if it focused solely on animals or another specific nature-related subject. For example, the book Born to Be Giants: How Baby Dinosaurs Grew to Rule the World by Lita Judge is found in the Turtles, Snakes, Lizards and Frogs section of the More Animals chapter. This could have been saved for a bibliography devoted to children’s dinosaur books.
Even though much of this review has detailed the challenges of this text, there is also a lot of valuable information to utilize. Resources selected are in-print children’s books, many represented on notable book lists. The individual entries are easy to navigate, each including the genre, subject headings, appropriate age-range and a clear plot summary. Many of the entries also include an image of the discussed children’s book. This text includes a subject index as well an author/title index, which are useful and assist readers who struggle (as I did) with the chapter headings and table of contents. Each chapter also includes sidebars detailing suggested activities that coordinate with the chapter topic. I found these sidebars very valuable, as these activities can guide educators and librarians in transferring reader interest to real-world applications. For example, in the Backyard and Garden chapter, the sidebar suggests that we give children the opportunity to plant their own seeds and watch them grow. In the Habitats chapter, the suggested activities include building sand castles and examining the creatures that call the stream home. The author builds on this concept by including a final chapter listing a few books that can guide adults looking to create interactive experiences and hands-on activities for children.
Most of the resources included in this volume are geared toward children under the age of 11 years. This text will be most useful to school librarians, children’s services public librarians and academic librarians working with prospective teacher candidates and curriculum resources.
