Be Prepared by Moderator Jennifer Emmett

Rich Louv in Last Child in the Woods has noted that one reason people aren’t out in nature as much as they used to be is that nature for some people seems to have taken on a scary face. Mosquitoes, ticks, and birds carry sinister diseases such as Lyme or West Nile. In an age of increased parental supervision, the idea of setting kids loose in the woods may seem dangerous. One thing that books can do in helping children connect with nature is to inform and demystify. Kids are better able to cope with the challenges nature offers if they can follow the Boy Scout motto, and “Be prepared.”

In Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George, Miyax/Julie is alone and lost in the wilderness, struggling to survive. Her Eskimo heritage has given her the expertise she needs to survive. But first she must harness her fear in order to succeed. As she does, she connects even more deeply to nature and to herself: “Out here she understood how she fitted into the scheme of the moon and stars and the constant rise and fall of life on the earth.”

National Geographic’s book, How to Survive Anything, takes a tongue-in-cheek approach to survival. Middle-school age kids who read this book will be prepared to survive more than just nature’s challenges. With this book, they can take on life. The subtitle says it all, How to Survive Anything: Shark Attack, Lightning, Embarrassing Parents, Pop Quizzes, and Other Perilous Situations.

Humorous art that shows right and wrong situations (for example, on “How to Survive Lightning,” Right: get out of the pool; Wrong: talk on the phone in the bathtub while flying your kite out the window) reinforces the survival tips.

Information is power. Julie used her knowledge and self-confidence and survived one of the wildest places on Earth. Kids who read her story will be inspired to have their own nature adventures, and when armed with information that helps them know how to meet their own challenges, their comfort level in nature will improve.

Have you read Julie of the Wolves? What’s your take on it? Tell us your favorite part. Do you have a good nature survival story? Please share your thoughts and comments!

Nature Near and Far by Moderator Jennifer Emmett

The Classic Treasury of Childhood Wonders by Susan Magsamen and One White Wishing Stone by Doris Gayzagian encourage children to connect with nearby nature. Having the sense that nature is accessible is clearly the best way for kids to feel inspired to make their own nature connections. But at NGS we also like for kids to connect with nature in an aspirational way. We are fortunate to work with many explorers who spend time in the world’s wildest places.

In African Animal Alphabet by Beverly and Derek Joubert (NGS 2010), kids can see the wild through the eyes—and lens—of Beverly and Dereck Joubert, a writer and photographer team who live in Africa studying and photographing wild animals. Their book gives kids a window into a world filled with warthogs, dung beetles, and baboons. It is a wonder of childhood to know there are places on Earth where kids can spot lions and leopards instead of squirrels or slugs. And Dereck and Beverly bring this world to the kids who can’t see it for themselves. But hopefully someday will!

Do you seek out wild places for your nature experiences? Or do you find nature in your own backyard or nearby park or vacant lot? What do you think of the Indian saying quoted in Last Child in the Woods: “It is better to know one mountain than to climb many”? What books about remote wild places have fueled your or your children’s imagination and sense of wonder?

The Wonder of Nature by Moderator Jennifer Emmett

I am delighted to be a guest moderator for Connecting Children to Nature Through American Literature for the dates of June 26^th - July 16^th. I am the editorial director for children’s books at National Geographic, where we work hard to inspire kids to care about the planet. I'm also a mother of three nature lovers, ages 8, 5, and 4, and I love seeing my kids make their own nature connections, often with the help of books.

Over the next three weeks I’d like to discuss how books can help kids connect with nature in three ways: by inspiring wonder, by sharing information and modeling expertise, and by promoting stewardship.

This week's topic: The Wonder of Nature.

Crawdad Creek, by Scott Russell Sanders, illustrated by Robert Hynes (NGS 1999 & 2002), is a wonderful example of kids connecting with nature. Lizzie and Mike enjoy exploring the creek behind their house where they see animals of many kinds, find fossils and arrowheads, and hear the beautiful music of the wind and the creek. They try panning for gold. Lizzie says, “We never found any gold, at least not the kind you wear on a ring around your finger. But I felt rich all the same.”

Lizzie sees it clearly. Nature enrichens kids’ lives. Richard Louv, in his book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature Deficit Disorder (Algonquin 2005 & 2008), has comprehensively demonstrated how much poorer a childhood can be if it is deprived of contact with nature. At National Geographic, we think books can be tools to inspire kids to get outside, by engaging their sense of wonder.

Two examples from our list. In One White Wishing Stone, by Doris K. Gayzagian, illustrated by Kristina Swaner (NGS, 2006), a mother and child share a day at the beach. With poetic language and magical illustration, the child is shown observing or collecting natural treasures, starting with one white wishing stone and counting up to ten tiny sandpipers. I like how this book models one lovely way in which a parent and child can discover nature together.

Another book that promotes family nature experiences is The Classic Treasury of Childhood Wonders, by Susan Magsamen (NGS, 2010), an absolute gem of a book. A collection of poems, stories, nursery rhymes, photographs, and art that embody childhood wonder, it also includes hands-on, practical activities that show kids how they can connect with nature in simple but powerful ways—building a snow family, or a sand castle, for example. One of my favorites is “Ideas for the Nature Wanderer,” where the child is encouraged to use his or her senses to listen, look, smell, touch—and think about nature.

In Last Child in the Woods, Louv quotes Rachel Carson who rather concisely explains why we need the wonder that nature brings us (at any age, but especially in childhood): “From wonder into wonder existence opens.”

So let’s all read up. And then go outside.

What stories can you share of how you or your kids have found wonder in nature? Did a book help capture that sense of wonder, or prompt the seeking of it? Have you read any of the books mentioned above? What do you think of them? What’s your take on nature deficit disorder, as identified in Last Child in the Woods?

Please share your stories and thoughts!