Welcome to our latest collection of children’s nature book releases!
Super Birds! – Annabel Marriott – The Book Guild
Super Birds! is a fun, bright children’s nature book for very young children that aims to inspire them to explore wildlife and nature, featuring charming illustrations by Ruth Coggins.
Have you ever wondered what the birds around us get up to when we aren’t watching? A juggling heron, a racing driver robin and a wagtail who rockets into space are just some of the Super Birds you will encounter in this colourful picture-book story.
As well as rhyming prose to accompany each bold bird image, the book includes fact files on some of the UK’s most well-loved feathered species, instructions on how to make a bird box and advice on what to feed them.
A simple, yet delightfully effective book to capture children’s imagination and draw them into the fascinating world of birds.
About the author:
Annabel Marriott has always loved wildlife, particularly birds, and is fascinated by their various personalities and habits. It was while Annabel was walking her dogs through Ravenscourt Park in London, listening to the birds, and wondering what they get up to when we can’t see them, that the idea for Super Birds! was born. Annabel lives in Eastbourne, East Sussex.
Annabel says: “My background is in teaching and I wanted to explore the possibility of relating Super Birds! to the young children who were reading it or being read to. It’s easy to assume we know somebody until they do something ‘unexpected’ and then we think ‘wow! I never knew you could do that!’ I wanted the adults reading it to get enjoyment from it too and the illustrations are a huge part of that. It’s vital that the younger generation realise the importance of wildlife and how to care for it and that it’s not too hard to do. I hope this provides a valuable starting point.”
About the illustrator:
Growing up on a rich diet of 1980s animation, comics and an obsession with movement in early film resulted in Ruth Coggins spending many an hour as a child whiling away the days creating cartoon characters and tinkering around with old cameras to create crude stop-motion animations and it’s something she has continued ever since.
Ruth says: “To be chosen as the illustrator for Super Birds! was a dream job and I can’t wait to share my illustrations accompanying these fun verses with children. I think it’s important to get children interested in the natural world around them, especially in terms of the environment and their general wellbeing… I hope this book encourages youngsters to get out-and-about and discover amazing things as well as breeding a new generation of ‘Twitchers’!”
Super Birds! is available to buy at bookstores including Amazon, Waterstones and Foyles.
Boomy the Bittern – Pam Earnshaw – Cranthorpe Millner
Boomy the Bittern is a beautiful bedtime story, vibrantly illustrated by wildlife artist Sally Mills, that doubles as an integral teaching aid for both parents and educators.
When nature-lover Pam Earnshaw was searching for a children’s nature book to assist with teaching the early years about preserving the environment and endangered species, she was shocked by the lack of material available and so the idea for Boomy the Bittern was born.
No detail has been overlooked; with sounds and phonics to engage readers, evocative pictures and a heart-warming story, the book uses a font designed for early readers and is in line with the National Curriculum Programmes of Study, making it a natural fit for early years learning. The importance of ‘early years learning’ cannot be underestimated, with experts pointing out that development and nurturing between the ages of birth to eight-years-old form the foundation for adult behaviour and health.
Boomy the Bittern tells the tale of Boomy and his family, and outlines their plight as the wetland they live in is threatened by drainage. We follow the bitterns as they go about life in their wetland home; hiding in the reeds, bringing up their young, squelching through the mud and scooping up fish to eat. But when the wetlands are drained by humans, where will the bitterns go?
Children will adore the vivid images of the wetland’s inhabitants, from frogs to fish, and the opportunities to sound out the noises and calls made by the wildlife in the book. In turn, educators and parents can utilise the text and pictures to open a dialogue about wildlife conservation, the fragility of the environment and climate change.
A clever, informative book that ticks all the boxes to make it an early years classic, with how to to imitate the booming call of the bittern an added highlight!
About the author:
Born in 1942 and raised in post war Britain in the Midlands, Pam Earnshaw was inspired by the freedom to play outside and explore. Her many days spent walking around Cannock Chase, Sutton Park and the heath, listening, observing and foraging for wild berries, gave her a lifetime love of the natural environment. She studied at Leicester Teacher Training College in Scraptoft and did a degree with the Open University, specialising in Language Development and Educational Psychology. Her move to Somerset came in the 1970s where her love for nature was deepened. She taught in primary schools and was seconded by Somerset Education Authority as an Advisor for IT. Her career rounded off with a post to teach the IT module to students training to be teachers. Early retirement brought opportunities to volunteer with RSPB and Somerset Wildlife Trust.
Pam says: “What’s unique about the story is that it teaches specifically about wildlife that have particular ecological requirements. Bitterns and other wildlife are threatened by activities like drainage, vegetation changes and tourism – topics that are not often discussed in early years learning. It’s important to introduce these topics in a way children can understand and engage with – which is where Boomy and his family enter the picture! For the early years, Boomy is a delightful figure that encourages them to make sounds, observations and even predictions – the tale is a learning tool but it’s also a joyful and fun bedtime story.”
About the illustrator:
Sally Mills was born in 1967 and raised in rural North Wales, where she was inspired by her bucolic surroundings, leading to a fascination with the natural world. A healthy obsession with birds dominated her life and has continued to do so to this day. She studied art at Cardiff University. Using the medium of sculpture to capture and portray the life of birds, she graduated with a first-class honours degree, followed by a distinction in a post graduate diploma in conservation management. Fulfilling her childhood passion throughout her working life, she spent 25 years in nature conservation working principally for RSPB. This occupation also fuelled her drive for sustainability, and she was seconded to the government to pioneer new bioenergy initiatives powered by nature reserve vegetation. Towards the end of her conservation career, Sally earned the chance to manage a tropical island nature reserve in Seychelles, together with partner Melvyn and she now runs a small horticultural business in Somerset, driven by the ethos of health and sustainability.
Sally says: “The emphasis is put on the responsibility we have collectively to protect our vulnerable wildlife populations, and we believe it may teach not only children, but a few adults too! While the threat posed to bitterns is not as strong as it once was, there is an ongoing need to ensure these creatures are protected. With this book, our hope is that future generations will develop a love and respect for both bitterns and other wildlife and, in turn, will work together to preserve their natural spaces and habitats.”
Boomy the Bittern is available at bookstores including Amazon, Waterstones and Foyles.
The Goblin Pages – Jamie Ivey – The Book Guild
The Goblin Pages is a children’s nature book set against the backdrop of Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire and celebrates the beauty of the natural environment.
Zach has always been different. Now aged eleven and starting secondary school, he wants nothing more than to be like other children. But when the school bully discovers that Zach famously went missing in Sherwood Forest for four years of his life, the teasing starts. If only Zach could remember what happened to him in the forest, he might be able to defend himself.
With the help of his enigmatic form teacher and his friends, Zach attempts to solve the mystery of his lost years in the woods. He uncovers a centuries-old environmental conflict and magic that could change the world.
A magical book that seeks to teach us through evocative storytelling how children’s connections to nature are tied to the very future of our planet.
About the author:
Jamie Ivey lives in the South of France with his wife and three daughters. He is the prize-winning author of five books on Provence. His work has been published worldwide and translated into multiple languages. The Goblin Pages is his first children’s book. So far, it’s been unreservedly praised by just two of his children. The third, the eldest, while rating it a good read, is insistent that any future books must contain more horses.
Jamie says, “The main theme I wanted to explore was the relationship between technological advance and children’s imagination. The school Zach attends is run by a headmaster who is a fanatical advocate of technology in schools. The headmaster’s emphasis on data and results strips creativity from the classroom, allowing no space for the individual. However, magic, representative of the untamed imagination, and the natural world, keeps rearing its disruptive head. I believe children are much more in touch with the natural world than adults. It is the space in which their imagination lives. The central tension of the book is therefore progress through technology on one side, set against imagination and the environment on the other.”
The Goblin Pages is available at bookstores including Amazon, Waterstones and Foyles.
Super Birds!
£7.35
Boomy the Bittern
£6.46
The Goblin Pages
£7.35
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