Nature’s Patchwork Quilt: Understanding Habitats

Nature’s Patchwork Quilt by Mary Miche
Illustrated by Consie Powell
Understanding Habitats
Genre: Children’s Book – Nature
Pages:
Date Published: September 2012
Publisher: Dawn Publishing

Just imagine all of nature – mountains, prairies, oceans, and all – lying on your bed as a patchwork quilt! Take flora and fauna in their unique habitats, fold them up and you have a book, this book. Earth’s major habitats are spread before you, ready to be examined. Here in this beautiful package are revealed the key concepts of natural science. This patchwork quilt of nature covers the whole Earth, your home – yours to learn about, to enjoy, to care for, and to love.

What a beautiful book this is! (I read an electronic galley format, and would love to have a real copy for our shelves!) I actually stumbled across this looking for something with quilts, but I’m delighted to have made this discovery. Nature’s Patchwork Quilt is a book that I could easily picture being sold in museum and field trip gift shops as well as being using for a nature or ecology class. A definite jewel for homeschool or otherwise.

Every page is fascinating to look at with absolutely gorgeous artwork illustrations. I could very well picture a kiddo pouring over this for hours just staring at all the pictures and seeing how things work together in their kingdoms. There are bold words for vocabulary emphasis and at the end of the book there is a few pages of activities and suggestions for further learning. While I haven’t heard of these author/illustrator team or this publisher before I’m quite impressed with the digital galley and I think that the actual physical book must be just as impressive if not more so depending on the materials they used to publish it. I’m going to have to look for this one, and right now would not hesitate to recommend it.

*Thanks to the Independent Book Publishers Association for loaning an eCopy for review through NetGalley.*

Mary Miché has been an environmental educator since 1972, when she began her work in outdoor education schools. She completed her masters degree in environmental education in 1982. She has visited hundreds of schools since then, singing her nature and science songs for children. This book was inspired by her many trips to and concerts in Yosemite National Park. Mary has worked with children in public schools for over thirty years. She is especially concerned with helping children to understand environmental processes and to take care of our earth. Visit her website at www.MaryMiche.com.

Consie Powell loves to “muck around in nature’s lovely untidy places,” as she puts it, and then to illustrate the complexities of nature. She has spent
time in all of the habitats illustrated in this book, her trusty sketchbook and a small tin of watercolors in hand. She has illustrated a dozen children’s picture books about nature, seven of which she also wrote. Although she grew up in sunny southern California, Consie now lives in the far north woods of Minnesota with her husband and their Newfoundland dogs. Visit her website at www.ConsiePowell.com.