Handbook of Nature Study
Handbook of Nature Study
By Anna Botsford Comstock
Only $26.00
Paperback, 887 pages
I have a large collection
of science and nature books. Yet I often open The Handbook of Nature Study as a first resort. It is the most unique because of
the sheer volume of information in a sort of encyclopedia of nature. And it reads as a personal
conversation, not as a dry boring text.
The author has a
contagious awe for the world around us, from caddis fly larvae to little brown
bats. Curious about what to feed a
cricket? Ever wonder why a
lightening bug lights up? You'll
find this and much more all delivered in the most personal and readable writing
style.
The section on the
dandelion is priceless! We finally
found out how the dandelion got its name, from the French "dent-de-lion" which
means teeth of the lion. The edges
of the leaf are notched in a way they resemble the profile of lions?
teeth. I read portions of this
section out loud to my children during our morning read aloud time. Then I took a break and they all ran
outside to pick their own dandelion flowers and leaves.
When they brought their
dandelions back to the table I continued reading about the dandelion and the
kids got out their Beinfang Notesketch books and carefully sketched the details of both the flowers and leaves
and colored them with our Faber-Castell Water Color Pencils. There
is even a charming poem in the Handbook of Nature Study about the dandelion that we copied into our
notebooks after we made our drawing.
All day long I would see my kids outside admiring the fastidious
qualities of the dandelion. We had
a dandelion salad for lunch and two of my boys even transplanted some into
their own garden! How sweet!
For more information on
the nutritional properties of the dandelion visit:
http://www.edibleweeds.com/generic.html?pid=6
Comstock brings us into the
world of nature, and helps us see that we don't have to go far to find it,
after all. Her anecdotes about her personal experiences and her study questions
that end each section keep this book from becoming just another field guide.
The poems taken from great
literature about many plants and animals are worth the price of the book
alone. We often follow a color
pencil drawing with a beautiful poem about our subject. Here is a poem about The Oak tree from
the Handbook of Nature Study:
The Oak
Virgil
Full in the midst of his own strength he stands
Stretching his brawny arms and leafy hands,
His shade protects the plains, his head the hills
commands.
- Item #: 6-13
