Reading…

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Vitamin N, by Richard Louv

What greater week to introduce Louv’s newest book than screen-free week! I found Louv’s Last Child in the Woods completely life-changing and inspiring as a parent, and was thrilled to find out, when writing this article for the Post, that he had written a book entirely dedicated to ideas, advice, projects, and activities to get kids and families out into nature. Louv was gracious enough to send me Vitamin N, which I devoured quickly and happily (and also found myself quoted in! What a wonderful surprise!). The book is a wealth of knowledge, loaded with websites, resources, and wonderful, creative ideas for how to have fun in nature alone or as a family.

One of the best tips I encountered in the book was the introduction of nature to children from infancy: “Start from day one. Give a baby the gift of nature… When our first son was born, I held him in my arms and walked to the window, and showed him his very first day. If the time and place are right, you can show your child the world in the beginning — the blue sky, gray clouds, the moon, the stars, the frost on the pane, the dawn.” Yes, I thought. Of course! 

And I was suddenly taken back to our earliest days with Milo, who was quite a crier in those early evening (and late evening, and mid-evening, and middle of the night, and early morning…) hours. In desperation, Andrew sometimes used to take Milo outside in the middle of the night in the fresh air, and oftentimes it worked in calming him down and getting him back to sleep.

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One-year-old Milo following Andrew in the grass of the National Mall

But going beyond those desperate nights, we brought him with us out into the world from the very start: walking all over the city parks when he was only a few days old while carrying him in a sling, taking him outside to the park in Baltimore to crawl in the grass, then watching as he toddled around our shady backyard on the edge of Rock Creek Park in Washington, DC. He spent hours exploring the small outdoor space amidst the ferns and hosta lilies, touching everything and just being in the thick of it while I gardened alongside him.

If you have the opportunity, take your child outdoors as often as possible when he or she is just a baby. If you do it from the start, it will become part of who they are forever, and it will be a place they can always turn to, and return to.

I highly recommend Vitamin N — it would be the perfect gift for a new parent, or one who needs a little push in the nature direction! Thank you, Mr. Louv, for sharing this awesome book with me — I can already tell it will become one of the most-loved, worn out books I own, right there alongside Last Child in the Woods. 

And while we’re on the nature subject…

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The Book of Frogs: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species from Around the World, by Tim Halliday

I picked this book up at our library last week thinking my boys would enjoy looking through it, and boy was I underestimating their fascination with all field guide, nature-related books! This one is quite impressive (and big indeed!); they are building some impressive muscles lugging this to and from the car and breakfast places!

A description of the book online:

The Book of Frogs commemorates the diversity and magnificence of all of these creatures, and many more. Six hundred of nature’s most fascinating frog species are displayed, with each entry including a distribution map, sketches of the frogs, species identification, natural history, and conservation status. Life-size color photos show the frogs at their actual size—including the colossal seven-pound Goliath Frog. Accessibly written by expert Tim Halliday and containing the most up-to-date information, The Book of Frogs will captivate both veteran researchers and amateur herpetologists.

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The boys were quite interested in the South American Rocket Frog (poor critically endangered guy who’s been missing in action since 1991) a good papa who carries his babies on his back.

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Check out this fascinating book from your local library for the amazing photographs alone. It will surely make your children marvel at the vast and astonishing diversity in the world.

1 thought on “Reading…”
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  1. I love it! I recently bought a book for my 11 and 4 year old nieces – Julia Rothman’s Nature Anatomy and they just love it! We all need to spend more time in and appreciating nature.

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