Nature Adventures

This nimbly illustrated field guide features children and adults exploring ecosystems that include urban oases, woodlands, and freshwater habitats. Wildlife sketches, flora and fauna identifications, and hand-written notes are scattered throughout the watercolor panoramas. The nature-loving characters are also remarkably well-read: one child sitting in the hilly countryside quotes Emily Brontë (“There is a spot, ’mid barren hills,/ Where winter howls”) and a boy gazing into a tidepool reflects, “To see a world in a grain of sand/ And heaven in a wild flower.” Packed with information both natural and literary, it’s a contemplative invitation for readers to embark on their own wildlife excursions. Ages 6–9. (Nov.)