You Can Be a Nature Detective

Book excerpt: The American concept of an idyllic childhood is one spent wandering in the woods, catching frogs, and being intrigued by strange insects. Sadly, many children no longer have the opportunity to do this. They have become isolated from the natural world. With You Can Be a Nature Detective, author and illustrator Peggy Kochanoff hopes to revive children's interest in the joy and wonder of the natural world. You Can Be a Nature Detective draws kids in by posing detective-style questions and then, with clear language and vivid watercolor illustrations, shows how they can get to the bottom of the mystery. This wonderful book explains how children and adults alike can have fun using nature's clues to figure out such conundrums as which bird built what nest, what butterfly or moth a caterpillar will turn into, and which animal made what tracks. You Can Be a Nature Detective can be a starting point for a new generation that appreciates and understands the world around them. Read it, and then go outside with a child and uncover some of the marvelous mysteries of nature.