Today our hero is a young turtle named Templeton. He's young, curious and looking for adventures. He is also the main character in the new children book 'Templeton Turtle Goes Exploring' by Ron Pridmore and Michele-lee Phelan.I always liked turtles. I didn't have one as a child, but I always admired them when I accidentally found one in the fields, hiding in their shells from the outside world. Our guy, Templeton, is the total opposite: he was just born and is already looking to explore the neighbourhood, which is the big pond in his case.
Templeton is interested in getting to know better the big pond and in making new friends. The story follows his journey around the pond and his encounters with other animals there. I don't want to talk much about the journey, not to ruin it for those who want to read the story. Nevertheless, I can assure you that the journey is full with excitement, joy, disappointment, friendship, fun and all the other great stuff adventures are made of.
The book has an interesting story behind it. Author Ron Pridmore, who grew up in the countryside of California where his love for the outdoors was developed, had one night a dream about a newly-hatched turtle. The next morning, as he recounted the events in his dream, Pridmore grabbed a cup of coffee and quickly wrote down the vivid image and story that filled his head and the story was born.
One part that makes it a great book for children (it's for 4-8 year old kids) is the beautiful illustrations made by the Australian artist Michele-lee Phelan, who has painted the covers of several fantasy novels and is working on her first art book. She did a beautiful job here with the wild animals and especially with our friend Templeton!
If you're asking what's green about this book, my answer would be that this is a story that encourages children to go outdoors, connect with nature, explore it, be curious about their surroundings and leave their computer and room once in a while to see what's going on outside. I believe the connection with nature and the appreciation of wildlife and outdoors are very important for children and have a significant part in their early green/environmental education.
This book also adds the part about the importance of community, which is great and above all it's a fun story, so I'm sure kids would love Templeton and will look forward to have exciting adventures at least like the one he has on the book.
Illustrator: Michele-lee Phelan
Publisher: Bridgeway Books
Published: July 2008
Pages: 32
GIVEAWAY GIVEAWAY GIVEAWAY
As usual, we will give away our review copy. And of course we'll also plant a tree for this copy and send it to the lucky winner with our "One tree planted for this book" sticker.
Publisher: Bridgeway Books
Published: July 2008
Pages: 32
GIVEAWAY GIVEAWAY GIVEAWAY
As usual, we will give away our review copy. And of course we'll also plant a tree for this copy and send it to the lucky winner with our "One tree planted for this book" sticker.
How to win? Simply – write a comment below, suggesting another good idea how to connect children to nature and make them excited about the outdoors at least as Templeton is. Good luck :)
Submissions are accepted until Saturday, August 2nd, 12PM EST. The winner will be announced the following day.
Yours,
Raz@ Eco-Libris
Plant a Tree for every Book you Read!
Raz@ Eco-Libris
Plant a Tree for every Book you Read!
35 comments:
One good way is to have a picnic in the park (like a state park) and go for a hike and explore the nature around you and talk about it. Have your children try and identify the different trees, or bugs, or birds. Make it fun!
HunnyV "at" Optonline "dot" net
This book is too cute! I get my girls involved in nature by having them help with our flower and vegetable gardens. And we got lucky enough this summer to have a caterpillar in my daughter's bug box, and we watched it turn into a butterfly:)
jceko77@yahoo.com
I try to get my son involved with nature by being involved myself. I love working in our garden and showing him with a bit of time and love we can grow plants and then eat their fruit.
take a walk! Even in the city there are tons of birds, and other animals to see
We've been doing a family camping trip to the Ithaca area for the past few years - being in the woods has really given my son an appreciation for nature.
lesliepear @ live journal . com
We do a lot of camping and nature walks to kep us all connected. We also like to get involved with any community-garden/nature activities.
gkstratos@yahoo.com
We live in a rural area and like to go on walks and point out different flowers, trees and birds to the kids.
khmorgan_00 [at] yahoo [dot] com
I think the best way to get kids involved in nature is to actually go experiance it. Going on a hike or taking a trip up to the mountains for the day is a great way... especially to bird watch or the like. ALso, allowing them to help plant small plants is a great way too. jeepcutie82 at msn dot com
We love to go on nature walks with buckets for collecting interesting flowers and leaves and such. My kids think they're finding real treasures.
Megret
musesofmegret (at) gmail (dot) com
I think having a garden and letting the kids help with it is a great way to get them involved with nature. Thanks! afdr3d@umkc.edu
Children's books and illustrations are wonderful! Templeton sounds like a remarkable turtle. My sons and I have often stopped and gotten turtle from the middle of the road. I was told to always put them on the side they were headed towards. My sons have a natural attraction to nature. My dad who is 90 has taught them to fish and his love of animals. My brother was a Veterinarian for over 30 years and they have seen many kinds of animals like a red fox, kestrals, raccoons, etc. We always have a cat or dog as a pet. Please enter me in your book drawing. Thanks, Cindi
jchoppes[at]hotmail[dot]com
Do a listening walk. Walk outside and let the kids tell you what they hear. Other ideas include bird watching, bug hunts, etc. Great giveaway, thanks!
I spend hours outside with my 19 month old twin boys daily. We go for walks, picking up various things and talking about them. We listen to the birds and the insects. We pick up feathers and learn about flight. We see the deers that hide out in the nearby park. We touch trees and leaves. The boys even leave "offerings" of feathers, wings, blueberries for the trees. On weekends, we go on mini hikes into the woods nearby to expand their experiences with different natural life. For us it's all about spending time outdoors to connect them with nature and help them realize how important and vital it is to stay connected.
The story sounds wonderful, thank you for the giveaway!
Just do it! Listen to your kids' requests to go for walks, play outside, etc. Get out there and let them lead and explore.
Bug catching is a great way to keep little ones occupied while teaching them that even ugly little bugs have a place in the ecosystem.
My parents always took me to state parks when I was little. We would hike and visit the nature centers. I learned to love nature that way. I plan on doing it with my little girl as well.
My nephew is one and wants to know the name of everything, so my sister takes him outside to see the rabbits, deer, bugs, and everything else they can find. Learning the names of everything helps connect him to nature.
We'd love to win. Thanks!
We love love love the outdoors! I always get my daughter involved by telling her the names of things and how trees and plants grow. We talk about different animals and try to do a lot of outdoor family activities, like picnics and hiking. She is always so excited to be outdoors and LOOOOVES helping in the garden. All good ways to get kids involved! Thanks! :)
victoria_legerejalc@yahoo.com
go on a scavenger hunt for leaves, rocks, bugs, etc... then get back together and compare what you found.
gratefulsoul at hotmail.com
i love to garden, and it think that planting a vegetable garden with your kids is a great way to get them involved with nature.
I think stargazing is great, and visiting botanical gardens too - that way they see their place in the universe, and they see their local ecosystem as one of many around the world.
Thank you.
urchiken at gmail dot com
We've been gardening with the kids. They really enjoy playing in the dirt and the kids are much more willing to try new foods if they come from the garden.
This would be great. My kids love Geocaching. They call it treasure hunting!
Making a nature journal is great fun for kids & really gets them into nature!
Having a leaf or flower journal is a great idea. As the child wlaks around, he can collect whatever leaf or flower he finds and paste it in the book, then learn about it on the internet or in a book.
Give kids a bug book, a magnifying glass and a bug box-kids love to explore!
Elaine R
emrosser@shaw.ca
A campfire, where the kids help find the twigs is always a fun thing to do.
When I take my son hiking, I let him lead the way and set the pace.
Outdoor picnic or naturewalk
hetz-junk(at)hotmail(dot)com
My 21-month-old daughter loves the outdoors and I try to get her more involved with nature just by letting her explore. When we go for walks we talk about what we see and when we're at home we play in the yard and she "helps" garden and landscape.
Thanks!
xpsundell(at)gmail(dot)com
I love taking my son to the local public garden (Olbrich Gardens) in our city. They have great classes for toddlers where they read a story about nature and then we talk a walk around the gardens where they point out things I never noticed before. It is a great way to have my so connect with nature so early. Thanks for the chance to win!
We try to have as much outdoor activities as possible, esp when the weather is really nice. Hikes, camping, or just walking around or where they can run around and let their curiosities explore!
lokeelanee (at)netzero(dot)com
We like to take our son to the beach, the park, and the zoo to get him exploring the outdoors
jasonncaryn at yahoo dot com
My daughter is still young (16 months) so one way I like to explore the outdoors with her is on my bike. I strap her in the child's seat two or three mornings each week and we explore our surroundings. She loves to point out homes that have dogs ("buppy") and the small streams through the neighborhood ("wa-wa"). I point out big trees, pretty flowers, etc.
beccachristensen at hotmail dot com
When my son's a little older, I plan to introduce him to "geocaching" - if the nature aspect doesn't immediately attract him, I'm sure the treasure hunt will!
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