Take a Nature City Walk celebrates something very near and dear to my heart as a longtime resident of Los Angeles: The amazing natural environment that exists in the heart of cities in North America.
This 32-page book is written for kids ages 8 and up, but I read it with the big explorer (5 ½ years old), who had no problem following along. That’s because the book’s goal is pretty simple: To teach you how to find, observe and identify the plants and animals in North American cities.
Take a Nature City Walk is just one in an amazing series called the Take a Walk® books, written by Jane Kirkland, a former best-selling computer book author who now adds to that honor the titles of speaker, photographer and citizen scientist. I’m a big fan and consider her a true advocate for connecting children with nature.
You don’t have to read Take a City Nature Walk in any particular order. There are three sections entitled Get Ready (where you learn about nature in cities), Get Set (where you discover three special city residents) and Go! (which teaches you how to find nature in city parks and gardens, on buildings and streets, in parking lots and near the water). There are also pages to take field notes and record observations, plus photos to help you identify things you might see during your walk.
Jane encourages kids not just to read this book, but to get out and explore, so that’s just what we did.
OUR NOTES FROM THE FIELD
I let the big explorer choose where we should take our own nature city walk. He picked his favorite park, one we’ve visited more times than I can count. But this visit would be different because we were going to see what things from nature we could find in a place we usually only play.
The big explorer almost immediately spotted a feather. Given its color, size and his knowledge of local birds, he knew right away it belonged to a crow.
Veering away from the main path through the park, the big explorer was next drawn down a slopping, grassy hill toward a group of tiny birds. By the time we got there, the birds were dispersing, but not before we could identify them as house finches.
From there, the big explorer led me across a grassy field toward a row of trees. In the grass, he spotted both types of dandelions (the yellow and white he noted) and tons of what looked like tiny daisies.
Next, he found a baby pinecone (again, his notation, not mine) and some dead pine needles from his favorite tree.
We also checked out some ant activity on the roots and trunk of another nearby tree. This was the first spot where the big explorer actually took several minutes to examine the ants up close with his magnifying glass. Then he explained to me that ants follow a scent (he called it a bad smell). You could break up their game of follow the leader (the only game ants know how to play, he added) by creating a new scent with your finger. He showed me how with such glowing pride that I was speechless.
Before heading off to join dad and the little explorer for a picnic, we spotted a reminder of our trip to Hawaii, the hibiscus, in red, the big explorer’s favorite color.
He was proud of our discoveries and I was amazed at how much we’d seen in less than 30 minutes’ time.
THE VERDICT
Take a Nature City Walk is all about recognizing nature wherever it appears – even in parking lots and on buildings. I appreciate that this book offers very helpful tips to spot wildlife in places you might not otherwise expect it. And the photo section in the back is perfect to help identify common species when you’re in the field. The big explorer did so on several occasions!
I can’t recommend this book highly enough, especially if you live in a city. Read it. Let your kids read it. Then take it with you the next time you and your family head outdoors. I promise you’ll see things with a whole new set of eyes.
Take a Nature City Walk is available for purchase on the Take a Walk Books website for $9.95.
THE GIVEAWAY
Take a Nature City Walk author Jane Kirkland is offering one lucky reader a free copy of the book! To enter, leave a comment below describing a place in the city where you’ve discovered nature.
The giveaway will run through midnight on Friday, June 11. The big explorer will choose the winner (at random) soon after. Good luck and I look forward to hearing about all of your discoveries!
Note: I was not compensated in any way to write this review of Take a Nature City Walk. I already owned the book before suggesting to Jane that I review it! If you’d like to read my full disclosure policy, you can check it out here.
Lisa says
When my son was a baby in NYC we would regularly stroll over to a nearby park to watch the black squirrels. We'd also stroll along the river. And there's always weather!
Sarah V. says
My daughter loves watching the ducks that swim in the river that runs through downtown San Antonio.
Melissa (@adventuroo) says
Sounds like an awesome book!<br /><br />We love our city parks! We go just about weekly and I try to visit different parks in the area, not just one.
Anonymous says
Sounds like a great book. Would love to get my hands on a copy;-)
Elizabeth says
We found a beaver this spring in the pond near our house in an urban park in the middle of Chicago. Very exciting!
Marc says
Thanks for another great book review!<br /><br />The best place in the city we have discovered nature so far is in our own neighborhood. This spring, I started taking my kids for a walk around the neighborhood as many nights as I could. We made it part nature walk, and part exploration. I gave them each a compass, and had them walk to a landmark and then stop. Then I would tell them to find a
Mel says
Sounds like a great book. We (I!) sometimes neglect city kids when we (I) talk about connecting kids and nature, which is silly since so many more kids live in cities than in rural areas. I'm glad someone has come up with a great resource for them.
Mike Barlow says
Thanks for a great review! This series wasn't on our radar yet.