forests | There's a Book for That

Thank you to Ruth Ayres, for the inspiration and her Celebration Link up that she hosts each week. I treasure this #celebratelu community who always find moments of gratitude in our busy weeks.

I know that so many people check the weather and rejoice when it is going to be a fully sunny day. Especially here in the Pacific Northwest where we have many days that are fully rain! I love summer mornings when the sun is beginning to rise in the sky. By the afternoon, I am wishing for the cool evenings. I don’t mind a little cloud. A rainy day thrown in every few days for good measure. Too much sun is just too much hot. For me.

Lately, we have been having day after day of sunny, hot days. Two days this week, we headed to the forest. On day with friends. We hiked. We played by the river. We had a picnic in the shade by a lake.

I celebrate the forest and its intense green. The full sweet air. The noise of birdsong. I am grateful for the chance to walk straight up a steep hill and not feel like melting. I am charmed by the trees that call, “Look up!” In the forest, there is time to dream. To feel part of something big and quietly powerful. For the chance to stand and stare and almost feel like growth is happening right there in front of us. To lose count of the many shades of green.

I invite you to come walking with me . . .

Come sit by the river a while. Maybe wander in? We had four kids who loved it!

If anyone is interested, here is an article in a local paper about the area where we were hiking. It is in North Vancouver in the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve – about a 30 minute drive from us.

Wishing everyone beautiful summer days – with your own “best dose” of sun!

Our BLG reader this week was Bill. He read us Where Would I Be in an Evergreen Tree? written by Jennifer Blomgren and illustrated by Andrea Gabriel.

There was lots to learn from the text of this book: all about nurse logs, the life cycle of trees, the amazing creatures that inhabit the forest and the wonder of every layer. The book ends with an invitation to come into the forest and discover more for yourself. But it is the illustrations that pull you deeper – the lush vibrant greens, the dripping rain, the spotted wingspan of the owl . . . Wow!

Such a gorgeously illustrated book. Students also kept referring to the pictures and how beautiful they were.

Would love to use this before a forest walk. Or after and connect our learning . . . .

Our student reviewers report:

Catriona: Its illustrations were very very interesting because they were probably painted and they looked real. I could easily connect to it.

Truman: I like the drawings and the rhymes and the details. I like the page that has the pine martin on it because of the snow and how the pine martin is jumping.

Khai: The illustrations are great because they were nice and colourful. They reminded me of another book about a forest.

Deandra: It was really cool. I saw a squirrel gliding to a big tree. I liked it so much I loved it.