HIKING: Summer Time To Touch Grass

 

This book was released in 2019, just before the Covid lockdown, and it was certainly in the making for years before that. it was also a product of a time before the current "TOUCH GRASS" mantra arrived. THE HIKE, written and illustrated by Alison Farrell, is a testament to the staying power of a picture book at its best. 

CHRONICLE BOOKS, 2019

The target age for this charmer is preschool to kindergarten, and yet it speaks to me from the opening pages. The kid-friendly illustrations throughout invite any reader of any age to dive into the adventurous spirit of childhood and go along for the hike!  

The title page reveals the field guide notebook of one character, Wren, who leads the three sisters from their nature-setting home through a full day of exploration of the bounties and beauties of nature.

The main text is simple, using few but perfectly chosen words: 

"We are going on a hike."

On that same page, hand-lettered labels  reveal names of the sisters and their dog, multiple plants and critters shown in their natural setting, with the colors of nature rendered in simple media including choices that most kids would find in a large set of crayons. Page after page continues the labeling of flora and fauna, sample notes in Wren's field guide, the antics of Bean, and occasional speech bubbles as the girls interact. 

Their roaming consumes the entire day into dusk, but they eventually reach their destination, a mountain top at which each completes her mission. Their return toward a well-lit and welcoming home includes the overhead expanse of stars in labeled constellations. When that happy resolve concludes, Wren's sketchbook offers added spreads and valuable nature information, all presented in child-like speeches and lettering. The model it presents for launching a summer notebook/;sketchbook project for kids at home is both appealing and accessible. 

This is all valuable and appealing on its surface, but the seemingly simple story also resonates with each girl's individuality, with the purposeful and self-directed use of a summer day, with their mutual appreciation of each other and of nature. All of these elevate an apparently simplistic or even scientific choice of story to one that invites return over the days of summer and years of lives. 

To read a prior post featuring two picture books on the power of footloose nature fun, read HERE. 

I recently read two middle grade novels in which the worlds (one incorporating recognizable location names, the other with imagined names suggesting places we now know) are post-apocalyptic from both environmental and political destructions of the resources we too often take for granted. Both include scenes in which characters reflect back, with melancholy, to the people who came before, who failed to appreciate and protect what they had before it was too late. Both, I'll add, are able to offer hope and a suggestion of a better future in various ways, but neither imagines that the harm can be undone. If this sounds interesting to you or young readers you know, check out D-39, A ROBODOG'S JOURNEY by Irene Latham (a verse novel that reads compellingly) and The TEAR COLLECTOR by R. M Romero. My reviews on goodreads are linked to the titles.

Celebrate SPRING: Take a HIKE!

 Whether you live in a climate that has four seasons, or find yourselves living where warm weather is 24/7/365, I hope that the calendar shift in seasons, from winter to spring, lifts your spirits the way it does for us Midwest folks. Whatever local signals you notice (around here it is daffodil and other bulb blooms, as well as flowering trees and shrubs) our twelve month trip around the sun is bringing us into a friendlier angle in relation to the length of daylight, developing  potential for "basking" on this glorious planet of ours. (Southern hemisphere residents, you have my sympathy that your seasonal change is leading up to your local winter patterns, but you can gloat in about six months as I'm well aware of what is coming for us in half a year.)

Two picture books are especially suited to seasonal change, no matter where you live, celebrating the revelations of the great outdoors. One is a picture book featuring three sisters (wiith diverse ethnicities and ages, plus their dog) who are obviously experienced with outdoor navigating, and who model excellent habits and opportunities when kids are out and about, exploring. The other is a board book, one title in a series featuring little Leo and his very engaged family. In this title, Leo's hiking partner is Dad. In this board book, one of nine, so far, they are spending the day on a hike. Two other titles star Leo's sister Lola! 

Both titles shared here are layered with added content, including labels for things observed, strong relationships and respect for nature, and day-long hikes that wear the characters out but leave them with superb shared experiences and opportunities for learning.

CHARLESBRIDGE, 2023

I'll start with this "LEO CAN" title, LEO ON A HIKE, written by Anna McQuinn and illustrated by Ruth Hearson. Both creators are established (and prolific) in producing board books, which means their talents shine through in this title. If you check it out and enjoy it as much as I did, click each of the names above to find many other delightful board books examples. Sharing such sturdy, colorful, well-written and illustrated board books with the youngest audiences is a sure way to sow the seeds for a lifetime love of books. 

In this case, the text uses naturally-phrased statements about their adventurous day, with visual elements that invite many conversational returns to the pages to name and chat about various objects and details. I particularly appreciated the use of words that make perfect sense in context but are not the "easiest" synonym/word choice that might have been used. That allows attentive young listeners to develop and ear for and recognize words and their uses within an age-perfect adventure, words like gaze instead of see, and notice instead of look for that more predictable see. As it continues, other choices offer spots, finds, and discovers. Some board books are intended as naming or concept books, intentionally re-using the same simple words, but this is an example of true storytelling in which the text and images are ideally suited to the target audience but also model the vocabulary patterns that will be used in more complex picture books. I really encourage use of this board book for turning kids this age into active explorers who can tap into their natural curiosity and attention to the world around them.

CHRONICLE BOOKS, 2019

An ideal example of such a picture book is THE HIKE, written and illustrated by Alison Farrell. This is described as a "Nature Book for Kids, Outdoors-Themed Picture Book for Preschoolers and Kindergarteners". As with the best of picture books, fiction or fact, the range of character ages and the independence (and responsible choices) of the multi-aged characters invite audiences of many ages, including much older ones. From endpapers through the opening, on to challenging events and a most satisfying conclusion, these are highly competent girls with a solid foundation for a day-long hiking trip without adult company. Throughout the succinct and effective text, the pages are rich with labeled flora and fauna, allowing extended learning through repeated readings. That effective but simple text is delivered in narrative lines as well as through speech bubbles, field notes, landscape labels, maps, and more.

This is much more than a simple romp through wildlife territory. The sisters do not set out until they are well prepared and provide hints at their ultimate plan, leading to a fully satisfying conclusion. There is some helpful back matter that reveals double-spread hand-penciled field notes by sister Wren, which includes not just terms used to label natural elements within the main story but also expands descriptors and details to make the 'field notes" pages both examples for readers to attempt and information for those who might not venture out on their own.

(My only concern: I wish Farrell had made another word choice in this sentence:

 "In the beginning, we run like maniacs."

This choice reflects a lack of awareness that references to doing things with abandon can be described in neutral ways rather than this implication, that those with mental/emotional challenges  are out of control. I don't mention this to diminish the value of this terrific story, but rather to raise awareness of how easily some unintended harm can be done to others by careless ableist language. What has become familiar figurative language requires writers (and editors)to invest  some moments of reflection on potential harm.)

Experiences in nature are seldom singular, rather they are formed through habit or regular returns to familiar locations. These practices and beloved locations may become outdoor schools for excited young hikers and also invite further study and investigation. They can also, as portrayed in both of the examples above, generate a setting and connection for bonding emotionally with important people in our lives. If you missed it, PLEASE read about one of the most outstanding picture books of 2023 (and of the decade, at a minimum), A WALK IN THE WOODS, reviewed here. 

Then get yourselves and those who matter to you out of the house and into the outdoors, whatever season might be turning a corner where you live.