Today, on one of the last February days, my sons and I went out to play and enjoy the sunshine and unusually warm weather. Eli, age 4 1/2, and Josh, age 2 1/2, are most definitely the picture of what a young boy should be always getting dirty and into mischief. We have a drainage ditch, I like to think of it as a small stream, running across the back of our property. And as expected they both found the biggest stick they could find and headed straight for the water. Being late winter and all the water level was still low with just a bit of water and all kinds of mud. For a while they skirted the edge of the water careful not to get wet and then the temptation was just too much. I was on the other side of the yard cutting back my ornamental grasses, I look up and sure enough they were in the water squishing through the mud with socks and pants still on. Thankfully the shoes were off. As I approached them and saw the smiles on their faces all my anger disappeared and I immediately thought of one of my most favorite childhood books, Ultra-Violet Catastrophe by Margaret Mahy.

Ultra-Violet Catastrophe is a wonderful story about a young girl reluctantly going on a visit to her Aunt Anne’s. Upon arriving she meets Great Uncle Magnus and they set off on an adventure full of tree climbing an sinking their toes into mud. This is a must have book for any family that cherishes outdoor avdventures and understands the great value they hold. Appropriately, this book was given to me by my uncle Steve, Peggy’s brother and business partner for many years.

I quite enjoyed going in and pulling it off the bookcase and joining the boys back outside. As they sat eating a snack with their pants wet and muddy I read the book aloud and was captivated once more. Beautifully illustrated and so much fun to read.

It is so important to teach our children the value of both mother nature and books. Sometimes it seems as if our current society is slipping slowly away from that. Luckly my mother is an avid reader and for all my life has run a thriving garden center, and for that I am forever grateful. And now my sons are able to enjoy their grandmother’s greenhouses and every week when she comes to visit she snuggles up with them and reads a book or two. Below I have compiled a list of just some of our favorite books pertaining to nature in some way or another. And I invite you to share any of your favorite children’s books. Email them to us, [email protected] , and we’ll post a second article with your favorites.

Ultra-Violet Catastrophe, by Margaret Mahy
What the Wind Told, by Betty Boegehold
Oh A Hunting We Will Go, by John Langstaff
Weather Witch, by Joanna Stubbs
The Color Kittens, by Margaret Wise Brown
Deep Down Underground, by Olivier Dunrea
The Bog Baby, by Jeanne Willis
Quail Song, by Valerie Scho Carey
The Curious Garden, by Peter Brown
Wabi Sabi, by Mark Reibstein
Chameleon’s Colors, by Chisato Tashiro
An Egg is Quiet, by Dianna Aston
The Giant Cabbage, by Cherie Stihler
Thunder Cake, by Patricia Polacco
Driving My Tractor, by Jan Dobbins
The Grouchy Ladybug, by Eric Carle
We Went looking, by Aileen Fisher
I Like Animals, by Dahlov Ipcar
Planting a Rainbow, by Lois Ehlert
Rabbit Seeds, by Bijou le Tord
Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit, by Il Sung Na
Sophie’s Masterpiece, by Eileen Spinelli
Brother Eagle, Sister Sky, by Susan Jeffers
Wonder Bear, by Tao Nyeu
Scranimals, by Jack Prelutsky
The Story of Frog Belly Rat bone,
by Timothy Basil Ering
How the Sun Was Brought Back to the Sky,
by Mirra Ginsburg

Lastly I’d like to end with a book I recently came across at the library. The Bumper Book of Nature, A users guide to the great outdoors, by Stephen Moss. Organized by seasons, it’s an enormous book full of facts and activities to get you and your children outside and interacting with nature. Full of how tos, identification pages for plants and animals, recipes and poems; this book belongs on everyone’s bookshelf. I look at it like a jumping board for all kinds of outdoor adventures I can have with my sons. -mandy