This week’s theme for Top Ten Tuesday is Covers/Titles with Things Found in Nature. And kind of timely as well, for March 3rd later this week is World Wildlife Day! So today, I bring you books about nature (kind of, in the case of a couple!) to help celebrate World Wildlife Day!!

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10 Wondrous Books About Nature (sort of, kind of, and really!)

Disclaimer: Kesar and the Lullaby Birds/The Secret Language of Birds – Netgalley digital review copies | Animal BFFs/Epic Animal Journeys/Kesar and the Lullaby Birds/The Nature Book/Secret Stories of Nature – Edelweiss digital review copies | Other books – library/personal copies

Animal BFFs

Animal BFFs: Even Animals Have Best Friends! by Sophie Corrigan (Children’s Nonfiction | 7 – 9 years, and up)

Synposis

The animal kingdom is full of odd couples that prove that sometimes it’s better to be together! Like the rhino and the African Oxpecker, the coyote and the badger, and the crocodile and the plover bird. This book is full of funny facts about animals and symbiotic relationships for children to explore

My Quick Thoughts

Love the fun approach to teaching young readers (and older ones too) about symbiotic relationships between animals and birds and more. With cute quirky leading examples and funny imagined dialogs between these BFFs as well as adorable illustrations, this book introduces us to the cool relationships developed in the animal kingdom for various reasons

Epic Animal Journeys

Epic Animal Journeys: Navigation and Migration by Air, Land and Sea by Ed Brown (Children’s Nonfiction | 6 – 11 years, and up)

Synposis

All the branches of the animal kingdom – birds, fish, crustaceans, reptiles, mammals, insects, and even slime moulds undertake great journeys across water land or air. This is a glorious celebration of the mysteries and marvels of migration.

My Quick Thoughts

I always love reading about animal/bird migrations. There is something awe-inspiring and fascinating in how all these different creatures undertake in these amazing migration journeys with such consistency!

This book is like a treasure chest of migratory journeys, and Ed Brown covers a lot of ground (literally and figuratively too) within its pages. He includes not only a ton of mind-boggling migratory journeys but also addresses issues faced due to human impact and how we can help. And of course, love love the details and beauty in Brown’s artwork here.

The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World

The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of the Whole Stupid World by Matt Kracht (Bird Field Guides/Humor)

Synposis

Featuring birds from North and South America, Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania, author Matt Kracht identifies the dumb birds that manage to live all over the freaking place with snarky yet accurate names and humorous, anger-filled drawings. Offering a balance of fact and wit, this uproarious profanity-laden handbook will appeal to hardcore birders and casual bird lovers (and haters) alike.

My Quick Thoughts

So of course, this one is not for young readers but adults will find this both entertaining and educational! You can check out my quick thoughts written earlier here.

Kesar and the Lullaby Birds

Kesar and the Lullaby Birds written by Aditi Oza and illustrated by Debasmita Dasgupta (Children’s Fiction | 4 – 8 years, and up) 

Synposis

Kesar’s baby sister Kamal will not sleep. Their entire village in the Great Rann of Kutch is kept awake by the infant’s cries and her parents are exhausted. When Kesar and Kamal’s ba comes to visit, her stories give Kesar a wonderful idea. Perhaps what Kesar needs to put her baby sister to sleep is a little bit of desert magic!

My Quick Thoughts

Oh my! Sweet, vibrant, beautiful.. love the depiction of sibling love and family bonds, as well as the rich tapestry of Indian folk art here.

The Most Important Animal of All

The Most Important Animal of All by Penny Worms and Hannah Bailey (Children’s Nonfiction | 4 – 8 years, and up)

Synposis

When seven children are asked about which is the most important animal of all, they learn about the key roles different animals play on Earth.

My Quick Thoughts

Which do you think is the most important animal on earth? This book is an excellent way to get started on important discussions about how living creatures of all sorts play their own roles in the world, and how each one matters.

The Nature Book

The Nature Book by Tom Comitta (Literary Sagas)

Synposis

What does our nature writing say about us, and more urgently, what would it say without us? Tom Comitta investigates these questions and more in The Nature Book, a “literary supercut” that arranges writing about the natural world from three hundred works of fiction into a provocative re-envisioning of the novel.

My Quick Thoughts

How did Tom Comitta do this? The book is a marvel in itself, and just the way it came about is enough reason for me to pick it and read – the whole book is found text!! It is a collage, a prosaic cento of sorts and I can only begin to imagine the time and effort it took to put together this book. And from what I have read so far (about a third of it), it flows together so well despite the various visibly different sources (some archaic language, some modern, a mix of American and British English, as well as other English dialects thrown in).

Read it for yourself to understand what I am talking about. Plus, The Nature Book by itself is a good read as well.

The Republic of Birds

The Republic of Birds by Jessica Miller (Children’s Fiction | 10 – 14 years, and up)

Synposis

in the land of Tsaretsvo, where magic is forbidden, Olga and her family are exiled to a remote shack near the Republic of Birds after her father angers the tyrannical tsarina. Unlike her perfect sister Mira, Olga struggles to fit into aristocratic society and harbors hidden magical abilities. When Mira is kidnapped by birds, Olga must venture into the forbidden Republic, facing perilous creatures and using her wit and magic to rescue her sister.

My Quick Thoughts

As a little girl, I read many Russian folk tales and stories, revolving around tsars and tsarinas, Vasilisa and Ivan, Baba Yaga, and more. And I always loved them. So I had to get started on reading this book. I am halfway through the book and enjoying it! Of course, the yagas are here in full force along with other fantastical creatures.

The Screaming Hairy Armadillo and 76 Other Animals with Weird, Wild Names

The Screaming Hairy Armadillo and 76 Other Animals with Weird, Wild Names by Matthew Murrie and Steve Murrie with illustrations by Julie Benbassat. (Children’s Nonfiction | 7 – 10 years, and up)

Synposis

What’s in a name? This lively, illustrated celebration is jam-packed with creatures notable for their bizarre, baffling, and just-plain-funny names. Some examples include White-Bellied Go-Away Bird, the Aye-Aye, the Fried Egg Jellyfish, and the Pieza Pie!

My Quick Thoughts

I found myself wondering if there are really animals with names such as the ones within this book. But they are there, and they are real! I checked a few online! All these weird and wacky wild animals are out there for us to gaze at with wonder! I first read this ages ago and revisited the book recently to enjoy its wacky weird animal filled pages.

The Secret Language of Birds

The Secret Language of Birds by Lynne Kelly (Children’s Fiction | 8 – 12 years, and up)

Note: this one has a publication date of April 9, 2024.

Synposis

From the award-winning author of Song for a Whale comes a poignant and heartwarming tale about a girl who discovers a pair of endangered birds about to lay eggs in the marshes of her summer camp…and the secret plan she hatches to help them.

My Quick Thoughts

Another current read, and another one I am TOTALLY engrossed in at the moment!

Secret Stories of Nature

Secret Stories of Nature: A Field Guide to Uncover Our Planet’s Past by Saskia Gwinn with art by  Vasilisa Romanenko. (Children’s Nonfiction / History of Science | 7 – 10 years, and up)

Synposis

Readers are invited on a journey around our wonderful world, through wild forests, over mountains high, to the bottom of our oceans and the earth beneath us. Each chapter investigates a different environment, and within, the pages tell the secret stories of the animals, plants, and natural phenomena of these habitats.

My Quick Thoughts

This book is visually stunning with artwork that is frame-worthy! And packed with information – those secret stories of nature the title mentions, of course. There is so much to learn and discover and marvel at within these pages. With its combination of beautiful illustrations and cool facts, this makes a great gift. Gift it to young (and older) nature and fact lovers.

Related Reads and More Books About Nature

• A World Full of Wonders and Words and Wishes
• The Last Rainbow Bird. Read my review of this stunning picture book here.
• Panda-monium: 13 Fun Facts About These Bears We Love!
• The Wondrous World of Water Bodies According to Hoyle
• 3 Books to Learn More About Our Remarkable Natural World
• Two Terrific Books About Our Wonderful World
• 4 Fabulous Books Featuring Our Fantastic World
• A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson. Read my son’s review here.

And Now, the End of This Post

Dear reader, have you read any of the featured books? Do you have recommendations for any similar books? Which of these books would you pick first to read/gift?