Reception / Year 1:
Taking Time by Jo Loring-Fisher is a lovely, soft-pasteled book about exactly what it says, taking time to appreciate some of the wonderful and beautiful things around us.
You wouldn’t believe how un-ordinary an ordinary stone can be until you see A Stone Sat Still by Brendan Wenzel. This book is a testament to the powerful simplicity of words, pictures and ideas.
Look Up by Nathan Bryson and Dapo Adeola is a deservedly award winning book that introduces us to a feisty science-mad girl who teaches us all to be open to the wonder of the stars.
Prepare to be inspired by all the wonders of new growth and the science behind them in Sean Taylor and Alex Morss’s Busy Spring. (There is already also a companion Winter book, with the other seasons apparently to follow.)
Year 1 / Year 2:
Picture books:
When Tilly’s TV is turned off she discovers a whole new world of nature and imagination in Wenda Shurety and Harriet Hobday’s inspiring Nature’s Toy Box.
Another book destined for awards, Omar, the Bees and Me by Helen Mortimer and Katie Cottle presents sustainability themes in a charming and approachable way.
Pond by American author/illustrator Jim LaMarche is a stunningly lovely evocation of a boy connecting to the natural world. Its images of slightly older children make it particularly suitable for the top end of this age range (and perhaps a little beyond).
Timeless classic:
The way that bringing a neglected garden to life reflects on the lives of those involved in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s The Secret Garden fits this theme perfectly. The original would be far too long and complex for most children in this age group, but this short adaptation from the Usborne Young Reading series would make an ideal read-aloud.
Non-Fiction:
Written as a strong narrative, the illustrated biography section of this David Attenborough title in the Inspired Inner Genius series will read well and, considering the subject’s high TV profile, interest most children, geniuses or not
.
In The Bug Girl, Sophia Spencer tells her own inspiring story of growing up as a bug enthusiast, not always appreciated as such by those around her, but helped to be herself and live out her dream. (Could work with slightly older children too.)
Year 3 / Year 4:
Picture book:
The Promise by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Laura Carlin, is one of those picture books that offers a great deal for older children to think about. A girl’s life is turned around when a promise kept puts her back in tune with nature. It is beautiful on every level.
Engagement level:
The entertaining and often very funny adventures of Horace Fox in the City by award winning Jacqui Hazell make us delightfully aware of the nature that exists even in urban environments. A sure-fire read aloud success, this might also provide a ‘stretch level’ for some Y2s.
The Last Bear by Hannah Gold is one of the loveliest books published recently, with stunning illustrations by Lev Penfold. It is not only physically beautiful, though. Its ecological story is relatively short and accessible, but nevertheless deeply involving and, indeed, moving.
Stretch level:
Melissa Harrison’s By Ash, Oak and Thorn is a charming fantasy, firmly set in the natural world; a sort of Borrowers for our green age. Its length and detail make it a little more challenging, but no less engaging for that. If enjoyed, there is an equally good, even more recent, sequel.
By contrast, The Silver Arrow, a first children’s novel from popular US author Lev Grossman, is a fantastical romp of an adventure, but also succeeds in using a magical world to draw attention to issues in our real one, the importance of preserving endangered animals and their habitats.
Older children’s picture book:
The Ice Bear by Jackie Morris is challenging in a totally different way. It is a picture book with a sophisticated, lyrical text that ask very thoughtful questions about our relationship to nature, essentially in the form of a parable. It also has some of the most beautiful illustrations I have ever seen in a children’s book. (Could also be used with Y5/6.)
Year 5 / Year 6:
Engagement level:
Piers Torday’s The Last Wild is an accessible, engaging story with a strong ecological message, interesting to read and exciting to hear. An entertaining cast of animals always goes down well, but the book also ask challenging questions about our world and where it is heading. There are several follow-on titles for those who get hooked.
Run Wild is a rather more gritty, realistic book about our lost connection with our own wildness and is powerfully gripping. It reads aloud well with this age group and acts as an excellent introduction to other books by Gill Lewis, which are brilliant for drawing in less confident or more reluctant readers.
Stretch level:
Fiction: I think Katya Balen’s October, October is quite simply one of the most wonderful children’s books written for a long time. Its intense lyricism would make it quite a challenging independent read for many KS2 children, but, read aloud, it will engage them in passion for nature in the context of a gripping, thoughtful, multi-layered human story.
Non-Fiction: Unlike most of my recommendations, the Diary of a Young Naturalist, written by autistic 14 year-old Dara McAnulty, is not a book I would suggest reading cover to cover with Y5/6 children. But given the chance to hear carefully chosen extracts, I think they will be wowed by this young boy’s commitment to nature and by the the intensity of his observations. (Not to mention the quality of his writing.)
Older children’s picture book:
Fourteen Wolves by Catherine Barr, illustrated by Jenni Desmond is a longer non-fiction picture book telling the story of the re-introduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park in the US. Spectacular in words and pictures, with a very important understanding about the balance of nature. Big Bad Wolf? Even animals are sometimes the victims of stereotyping.
Across Key Stage 2:
It is hard to imagine that anyone doesn’t already know Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris’s breathtaking The Lost Words. Now we have a second book of stunningly illustrated nature ‘poems’ in The Lost Spells. They read aloud quite wonderfully and are ideal for feeding into KS2 sessions, not all at once, of course, but as and when. Neither you nor the children should miss them. Inspirational.
When a major international writer like Ben Okri pens a book for children the outcome promises to be something very special indeed - and Every Leaf a Hallelujah most certainly is. A superficially simple tale of a young African girl connecting with her native trees carries deeply powerful messages. Somewhere between a picture book and a novella, it is perfect for reading aloud. Wonderfully enhanced by Diana Ejaita’s idiomatic illustrations and will live long with any children fortunate enough to hear it and see it.
(Practical tips and helpful suggestions for planning regular ‘Story Time’ can be found in the NOTES PAGES of this blog.)
