nature

The Summer Book by Töve Jansson is on its way to our shelves. This is a new-to-us old novel: a Scandinavian classic about a grandmother and her six-year-old granddaughter summering on a tiny island in the Finnish Archipelago, a cluster of more than 40,000 islands in the Baltic Sea. In short, flawlessly distilled chapters that feel complete in themselves—a bit like independent stories—events take place: the beach is combed, flora is observed, and, on a particularly marshy patch of shoreline, the city of Venice is constructed; worms are cut in half with a spade and a book is written about them

Birds inhabit every corner of our planet and represent freedom to many people throughout the world.  In this impressive book, photographer Joel Sartore shares images of captive birds from his work with the National Geographic Society on the Photo Ark project—an undertaking to document every living species in the world’s wildlife sanctuaries and zoos.  His photographs inspire wonder as you flip through these pages.  The accompanying text by Noah Strycker offers fascinating information about the world of birds.  The diversity---10,500 species of birds at last count; the speed of some birds---the

Jane Goodall is a living legend and one of the women I most admire. Her chimpanzee research during the 1960’s at the Gombe National Park in Tanzania is the subject of this National Geographic documentary. The film features never-before-seen footage from her early years of research. 

This documentary by Brett Morgen captures some of what it must have been like for a young Ms. Goodall to embark as an untrained, female researcher and make astonishing discoveries about chimpanzees living in the wild. She was the first to observe them using tools to search for food. Morgen also touches on Ms

At Johnson County Library, we love local authors. And when that local author is one of our own, we can't help but celebrate! Before transferring to our Leawood Library to work in the Youth Services Department, Hannah Jane Weber was active in our writing programs. We are proud to share that Hannah Jane had been awarded the 2017 Dylan Thomas American Award for the poem "Scenic Rail Tour" which is published in issue 63 of Rosebud. Of Hannah Jane's work, Grand Prize Winner, Judge Molly Peacock says "it is a twenty-first century nature poem" and she chose it "because of the double helix of its form

This is a superb collection of Mary Oliver's poetry. I believe there is a poem for every person in this volume. Interestingly, from Oliver's books I like least (Thirst and Felicity, for example), the chosen poems for this collection are strong and really resonate with me. I plan on reading those collections again, thanks to Devotions. On the flip side, my favorite books by Mary Oliver (Owls and Other Fantasies and Blue Iris) are represented by my least favorite poems. I still found an abundance of magic and beauty in this collection, a staggering amount really, and I feel most pleasantly

Richard Preston’s work of narrative nonfiction transported me to a place rarely seen by humans. Invisible from the ground, in the canopy of giant redwoods, exists a forest within a forest. Until recently the canopy was thought to be desert like, but thanks to the ecologists, botanists and naturalists depicted in Wild Trees, we now know, in the criss-crossed branches and burned out voids, the redwood nourishes many forms of life -- smaller trees and ferns grow in collected pockets of earth, a rainbow of lichen drip from the trunks and branches, and a particular type of salamander spends its

“They lived in a house at the end of the road and were friends to mankind”- Kinneson family motto.

In 1930, in the Vermont town of Kingdom Common-- sharing a border with Canada-- lives the fiercely independent Miss Jane Hubble Kinneson, known to most as Miss Jane. On the dawn of her 50th birthday, she finds herself embroiled in a battle with her cousin, Eben Kinneson Esquire, for the preservation of her beloved land, Kingdom Mountain-- some of the last untouched wilderness and home to glacial ponds, flora and fauna, and wildlife dating  back 10,000 years. Enter Henry Satterfield, a weather

In The Curious Nature Guide, author Clare Walker Leslie uses beautiful photographs and exquisite illustrations to entice us to rediscover the wonders that surround us in the natural world. Filled with easy-to-follow prompts and exercises, Walker inspires readers to reduce stress by spending time in nature.  Her book includes simple suggestions for reconnecting with the outside world.  

A quote from a postcard in the book serves as motivation; “There is no Wi-Fi in the forest, but I promise you will find a better connection.” After reading this book, I’m inspired to notice (and journal about)

For fans of the Planet Earth series by BBC, Earth: A New Wild, co-produced by National Geographic and PBS, is a must-see film series.

In five episodes ("Home," "Plains," "Forest," "Oceans" and "Water") hosted by conservationist Dr. M. Sanjayan, the series covers the interaction between wildlife and humans.

Stunning! This series offers a sweeping panorama of the African continent. However, the stories presented here are often intimate, following individual animals through both ordinary and special events in their lives. Many of the animal behaviors this series captures are firsts in wildlife filmmaking. Even the series narrator, David Attenborough, who boasts a lifetime of wildlife observation, is surprised by these unexpected dramas.

The cinematography is top-notch, and I really enjoyed following the cameramen and women behind the scenes to see how they labored to catch some of their amazing

David Rothenberg's Bug Music is a highly readable  and eccentric investigation into an aspect of nature too easily taken for granted. Bugs produce very mathematical sounds based on natural cycles. What human ears are able to delineate is really only the tip of a very large iceberg connected to other icebergs. Delving deeply into the sounds of cicadas, crickets and katydids, Rothenberg is not afraid to suddenly go big-picture on his readers. He aims for nothing less than a direct connection between  a cricket’s chirp and jazz band’s rhythm section. There is a philosophical nature to Rothenberg

Love this author – love this illustrator – love this author and illustrator combo – love this book. That’s a lot of love, but if you read this book I think you’ll agree with me. I don’t remember how I came across the illustrator Mark Hearld, but my guess (and hope) is that we will be seeing and hearing a lot more from this talented British artist. His mixed media work reminds me of Eric Carle, but colorful and vibrant in a fresh new way.

Award-winning children’s author and biologist Nicola Davies provides the perfect poetry to go along with the artwork, to vividly present the abundance of our