Member Reviews
Lovely book for young readers which would make an excellent addition to any classroom or home bookshelf.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me access an advance copy of this book in exchange for my review.
For us who live in the city, this book reminds us how nature helps us heal. With the pollution, high-rise buildings, noises we faced everyday, it is necessary to decompress. Moreover those who lived near airports or factories that produces loud noises and smokes, it is good to be able to escape from time to time. Nature can help us heal. Here's 5 ways you can use nature, told in simple words that kids can understand better.
I will be buying a physical copy of this book for my child who loves the outdoors! This book has such cute age appropriate activities for the littles I absolutely enjoyed it
Thank you NetGalley & Ivy Kids Echo for this book!
We all know that there are benefits to spending time in nature and this great little book gives children an introduction to some of the many reasons - such as getting sunlight, helping us sleep better and boosting our mood. This book takes us the reader through 5 brightly illustrated ingredients of being in nature and suggests 25 activities that will give you something to do access these ingredients. With some step by step instructions, and some short explanations all these ideas are easy to carry out with minimal adult input. I'll certainly be encouraging children to have a go at some of these activities.
This is a fun little non-fiction book. It is what one would expect from a title like this for this age, but also a bit different. The book looks at concepts not always seen in this level of book. It jumps out of the gate talking about Fractals, where, how and, why they are found in nature. Then it talks about smells and what makes them at the chemical level. This was nicely done and very informative.
With over 25 mindful activities, this book will help you make the most of all the good that nature does for us.
🌿 We all know that being outdoors is good for us - but do we know why? This book focuses on five active ingredients in nature that can help us feel more energetic, improve our concentration, help us sleep better, feel more relaxed and boost our mood. These are:
🌿 Fractal Patterns
🌿 Nature Sounds
🌿 Phytoncides
🌿 Soil Bacteria
🌿 Sunlight
🌿 Did you know?!
Phytoncides are chemicals that all plants and trees give off. Phytoncides get rid of things that might attack the plant. When we breathe then in, our bodies make special ‘natural killer’ cells that protect us from disease! Breathing in Phytoncides also lowers our stress, helps us sleep better and can help us feel brighter and more relaxed!
🌿Fractals are repeated patterns in nature and can be found everywhere if we just take the time to look. Branches, feathers, snowflakes and flowers are all examples. There are some wonderful activities suggested in the book for looking more closely at fractals: collecting natural treasures, making art with them and watching clouds and stars in the sky. There’s a beautiful page showcasing a ‘mandala’ which can be made from nature. This would make a wonderful activity if you’re out on a walk or at school.
🌿 Some of the other activities suggested are:
🍃 Going on a sound chase - use a timer and see how many sounds you can ‘collect’ in one minute.
🍃 Go on a scavenger hunt for different smells.
🍃 Make a potion from some natural items, crushing them to see what they smell like.
🍃 Making a wormery
🌿 This is a brilliant book to help you get the most out of being outdoors. We can’t wait to try some of the activities out! Huge thank you to for sending this book to us for review. A Little Dose of Nature is out now! Link to buy in stories.
🌿 We love Ivy Kids books. They look and feel beautiful and what’s more, the books are made from 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper and they print here in the UK!
I received an ARC of this children's books from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This is a fantastic book. It's filled with wonderful ideas and the pictures are adorable!
Love this book so much! The activities at the end of each section are so creative and so fun! We all need more nature and this book will give you a jump start!
Many thanks to Quarto Publishing, Alison Greenwood and NetGalley for the advanced copy of A Little Dose of Nature in return for my unbiased review.
This beautifully illustrated book is an absolute joy that focuses on the natural world. Although it is written for ages 5-8, I think even adults could learn a thing or two from some of the activities outlined in the book to support their mental health.
Using colourful illustrations, the book guides the reader through using all the senses to explore nature and support mental wellbeing. It also outlines 25 activities to help do this.
I think this book will be useful for parents and educators alike. I will be recommending it to local Beaver and Cub Scout leaders to help support, maintain and improve our local young people's mental health and wellbeing.
5/5 stars - highly recommend.
Absolutely adorable. My youngest son would live outside if I let him, so we have loads of nature books. This one is different and engaging! We loved every aspect of it!
This is a fantastic option if you have a child in your life that loves to be outdoors or you’re trying to incorporate nature into your classroom. There are so many great extension activities built into the book. For example, going on a nature walk. Building a mandala with things you find. Fun activities to explore mud. It might be messy but it’s so fun for the kids.
Inside the classroom, you could expand this even more. The book talks a lot about what we hear, see, smell, etc. in nature. This would be perfect to supplement learning about the five senses. You could also easily give parents ideas of how they could carry this book over into their everyday life.
My nephew is very young, but I think this would be so fun to read to him when he is in elementary school. It’s brimming with activities and a great selection 👏🏻👏🏻
Thanks so much NetGalley for the ARC!
This was such a cool book - I love the ideas for simple, free activities outside. My kiddo likely won’t care why they’re healthy and important things to do, but he’ll for sure love doing them!
Definitely recommend for parents with any age kiddos - the activities sound safe for any toddler up, and/or can be easily adapted!
Excellent tour of the senses in the wide world outside with all kinds of activities to share and provide fun learning.
She had me at "sniff like a schnauzer".
Some of the kids are in wheelchairs.
The illustrations by Anneli Bray are simply delightful, imaginative, and colorful.
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to anyone, but especially to a school or your public library!
I requested and received a free temporary e-book on Adobe Digital Editions from Quarto Publishing Group – Ivy Kids/Ivy Kids Eco via NetGalley. Thank you!
I really enjoyed this book. I work in mental health, primarily with kiddos, and am always looking for ways to teach my clients the mental health benefits of being outside. I would definitely buy this book to go through with clients or lend it out, There is a wealth of knowledge in here, at an age appropriate levels. The activities are also really cool. I loved that the book illustrations were so inclusive.
A really lovely book full of fun, educational activities for children to do in nature.
A great way for children to connect with nature and the world around them - sparking a passion for nature at a young age.
There's so many different activities for all seasons, all weathers - if you're stuck with how to spend school holidays... this is the book for you
We live in a world where so many of our children (and let's be honest, adults alike) are hunkering down inside and are generally fixated over some kind of device. As a global society we have forgotten how to be outside to get our much needed dose of nature. Dr. Alison Greenwood has created a wonderful nonfiction book for children (and their device hungry parents) to learn how to bloom outdoors in A Little Dose of Nature. She incorporates on each page the science behind nature topics like patterns we can notice outside, breathing in phytoncides and playing in the mud. All these acts can help us lead our children to a healthier and happier life. The book also includes activities that can done while you're out getting your daily dose!
Anneli Bray's illustrations really bring the science and everyday experiences to life. Get your copy from your favourite book store March 6th...and be sure to read it outside!
What a fantastic find for my classroom!.
My class are really into learning more about nature and understanding how it can benefit their mental health. There are lots of simple activities to try which don't need lots of resources or equipment - my class will certainly enjoy trying these out for themselves.
I love the organisation of the book into small chunks of text making it perfect for dipping in and out of. The illustrations are gorgeous and brightly coloured which will appeal to children.
I can't wait to buy a copy of this for my classroom for my children to enjoy over and over again.
A delightful and educational resource that would be great for classrooms and book corners. I found it especially useful for my son who is in a Montessori environment where he is expected to do all his research and present on his own. This book is a lot like a textbook but features vibrant and fun illustrations that make it easy to follow and engage wit. The material is age-appropriate and interesting for young children.
A Little Does of Nature would be a great book for school children and teachers who are learning about the outdoors and nature. There are many activities throughout the book that kids could do outdoors for hands on activities. Finding fractals would tie into mathematics, making mandalas and scavenging for objects that make noises are all things that help children learn more about the environments they are in.
The illustrations are well drawn and explanatory. It's laid out like a text book almost with column and sections devoted to the different topics of interest. It's a book that could be used for more than a few days during a school week - possibly even an entire week. There are 6 total sections of the book, or chapters almost - and each is devoted to a different element of the outdoors. A few could be combined in a single day.
The author, Alison Greenwood, is a psychologist and explains at the end of the book that spending more time outdoors is better for our mind and our bodies. This book is a great tool for kids to help them find ways to spend more time outdoors and also get adults outside to help, in turn giving them a good dose of nature too.
Get your daily dose of nature in this delightful picture book by Alison Greenwood as she walks young readers through the benefits of being outside and enjoying nature.
This book focuses on five active ingredients in nature that help keep our brains and bodies healthy. With engaging text and colorful, age-appropriate illustrations, this book shows readers how being outside can improve concentration and sleep, boost energy and mood, and help us feel more relaxed. It gently guides readers through twenty-five simple and creative activities to maximizes these benefits. They’re all easy and enjoyable.
This book is So. Much. Fun! I LOVED it! It's informative and inspiring. Motivating. Straight-forward and easy-to-understand, it will certainly appeal to its target audience of five to eight year olds. But older readers will enjoy it, too.
I’m a lifelong nature lover and I learned a lot! There will certainly be room in my backpack for A Little Dose of Nature when I hit the trails, beaches, parks, or woods. I’ll also keep it handy the next time I stargaze, go on a sound chase, a birdsong walk, or "treelaxation." Phytoncides!
This one's a keeper!
Bonus points: A Little Dose of Nature is printed on recycled paper “made from 100% post-consumer waste.”