Juliette Green reviews A Tiger’s Message by Martin D Hill & Marisa Morgan (illustrator) A Tiger’s Message is a beautifully colourful book that helps children learn about the wildlife of tropical rainforests, the threats that they face, and what people can do to help. At first glance, it appears to be a picture book aimed at Key Stage…
Sue Shanks reviews I Ate Sunshine for Breakfast by Michael Holland & Philip Giordano I Ate Sunshine for Breakfast is a book that explodes in front of you as soon as it comes out of the envelope or as it sits in the bookshop. The intriguing title and vibrant front cover ensures that the reader is compelled…
Dr Elsa Lee reviews What the Oak Tree Sees by AK Scott & RM Brink This beautiful, whimsical and nostalgic picture book answers a question my children and I often ask of an oak tree in the village that we call home. This tree has been a place of refuge for us as a family since we arrived…
Sue Shanks reviews Darwin Comes to Town: How the urban jungle drives evolution by Menno Schilthuizen Darwin comes to Town is a thoroughly researched book delving into the many ways that plants and animals are exploiting the habitats which are available in our urban landscapes and through these interaction are themselves undergoing evolutionary adaptations in a relatively…
Henricus Peters reviews Bringing Back the Beaver: The Story of One Man’s Quest to Rewild Britain’s Waterways by Derek Gow The author image on the back flap reminds me of (sometimes controversial) television botanist Dr David Bellamy, a past president of our NAEE who passed away in 2019. A reasonably burly figure with a bushy white beard set on…
Juliette Green reviews James Finds the NAG Patch by Sara Kightley This is the story of an intrepid teddy bear who, like his namesake Captain James T. Kirk, boldly goes where no teddy bear has gone before – to the North Atlantic Garbage Patch (or NAG Patch for short) – “a mysterious place that holds a dark…
Henricus Peters reviews Animals in Emergencies: Learning from the Christchurch Earthquakes by Annie Potts and Donelle Gadenne “Just imagine being sound asleep in a warm bed when suddenly it’s filled with sandy cold water. This water is so thick, you cannot move or get out of your home. You are stuck up to your neck in…
Gabrielle Back reviews Can You Hear the Trees Talking: Discovering the Hidden Life of the Forest by Peter Wohlleben. This beautifully presented, colourful publication transported me back to a time in my childhood when I played in the woods amongst the towering trees and collected conkers and acorns, such a magical time was had in those days. Peter…
Raichael Lock reviews Learning, Environment and Sustainable Development: a history of ideas by William Scott and Paul Vare; publisher Routledge. ISBN 9780367221935 Towards the end of this book the writers state that the stories ‘we tell ourselves about nature are crucial in determining our relations with the natural world’. For me, this quote provides an…
This book is informative in both scientific and cultural manner, containing facts and statistics. It describes the anatomy of both African and Asian elephants with beautiful illustrations. It highlights how they are so similar to humans in their behaviour, particularly their social interactions and their intelligence. The author writes about their evolution in detail and…
Chair of NAEE Trustees, William Scott, reviews The Long Spring: tracking the arrival of Spring through Europe. Author: Laurence Rose; Illustrator: Richard Alen. On a couple of occasions in the 1990s, when I travelled a lot on the continent for research meetings, I had the good fortune to experience Spring from the south of Spain to the…
Beasts at Bedtime is a very interesting, imaginative and almost magical book, that illustrates the themed wealth of children’s stories. It recognises that many of the great stories for children feature animals and it is written for all those who imagine that children also see themselves as magnificent creatures. There is a great deal of…