Kiwi team Gillian Candler and Ned Barraud have put together a beautiful, simple guide to NZ bushlife for preschoolers and school age children. This text is one in the explore & discover series, the others being: at the beach, in the garden and under the ocean.
I’m liking
This book is really fabulous. It presents scenes across two pages, and details what you would typically see in those scenes if you were able to take a snapshot in the NZ bush – at night, or in the forest canopy, or even in the wildlife sanctuary. Showing both flora and fauna, the pictures are stunning and clear portrayals of the real scene. So much so that my preschooler is now taking delight in spotting and identifying accurately what he has seen in this book. What fun!
I also love the pull out cardboard guide to frequently seen birds. We have mature trees on our section so this guide is great for holding up at the window and seeing if we can name some of the birdlife from this guide.
There are lots of inroads for teaching in this book, which shows pests and what their consequences on our wildlife populations, as well as just generally demonstrating what is unique about this amazing place we inhabit.
The conclusion
We have thoroughly enjoyed this book and would certainly look at getting others in the series as well. This title is going to be well used by classrooms and in the general education of today’s kids about what life is like ‘in the bush’.
Published by potton & burton, in the bush retails for around $20.
