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Life on the Deckle Edge

Nonfiction Nature Focus for February!

Okay, this is a commercial. But I want to give you a heads-up that February around here will celebrate some wonderful nature writers for children!

I had the blessed opportunity to grow up in a place and time that afforded hours of unsupervised time in the woods at the edge of my Florida neighborhood, and hours of solo bike rides to nearby lakes and parks. For many of today's children, the natural world is, well, unnatural to them.

Read Richard Louv's LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS - Saving our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder. It was originally published in 2005 and revised/expanded in 2008.

Another book I'm crazy about is A PLACE FOR WONDER - Reading and Writing Nonfiction in the Primary Grades by Georgia Heard and Jennifer McDonough. The authors present creative ways teachers (and other adults) can open the doors of exploration for young students and help them to express these connections to the natural world.

I've never outgrown those connections or the longing for them - frequently stopped in my tracks at the antics of a sparrow, or of any of the animals at the wildlife preserve where I volunteer. I was thrilled to get to write a book about wolves, and to be contracted again this year to write short "Nature's Way" animal profiles for the Core Essentials character ed. program used in many schools.

I'm also thrilled to have lined up some great nature authors for weekly interviews here this coming month. We're kicking things off with author and environmental educator Heather L. Montgomery next Monday, so grab your hiking boots and come along!
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