jazzyinthewild's Reviews (146)

I wish I had this book to read when I was a kid. I would’ve absolutely devoured it over and over again.

Aves Wood is Twitch’s favourite birding spot in Briddvale, and he plans to spend the summer holidays in his top secret hide which is buried deep in the woods overlooking the pond. 

But after he rescues a distressed pigeon from the school bully, and news gets out that an escaped prisoner is lurking in Aves Wood, Twitch’s summer doesn’t go quite how he expected…

An incredibly uplifting book for kids who might feel like the ‘outcast’, at school or in their friendship circles, for having a passion for nature - I know I felt like that during secondary school and still do now on occasion. 

This was such a fun & wholesome read. Full of birds, nature, mystery & friendship - I can’t think of a more perfect book for nature loving kids. I loved this story so much, I’m currently reading the sequel and I’m already super excited for the third instalment to be released in April!

Twitch is a lovely reminder that being a nature nerd is one of the most wonderful things you can be.

Leila and her mother are from Syria, they fled their home to escape war. Her mother moved to the Arctic Circle to study the Arctic Fox, leaving Leila in London - until one day she invites Leila to visit her in Norway to join her on a fox-tracking research trip…

Based on the true story of Anna the Arctic Fox - who walked from Norway to Canada across the sea ice, travelling over 2,000 miles in 76 days - we join Leila, Amani, Liv, Britt & Matty on a wonderful, wildlife-filled adventure through Arctic waters following Miso the fox.

Including exciting encounters with polar bears, arctic terns, minke whales, leopard seals, orcas and even a blue whale, Leila And The Blue Fox is a brilliant fun-filled, nature-themed book for little ones.

The book highlights the issues that come with the climate crisis, like global warming & rising sea levels, and how they are affecting wildlife behaviours and migration patterns.

One of my favourite parts of this book was the little snippets of Miso’s journey, which were beautifully woven into the main story, accompanied by the loveliest illustrations. It was really magical to get a glimpse of her journey as well as Leila’s. 

This was a really gorgeous book, KMH never disappoints.

Thomas Halliday takes us on a stroll back in time, 550 million years to be exact, leading us through the incredible landscapes of the Earth’s different epochs. Halliday’s beautifully immersive writing made it so easy to visualise the fauna and flora of each epoch, learning how different species would have interacted, what they would’ve eaten and where they would’ve lived.

In the introduction Halliday says he wanted the book to be read as a ‘naturalists travel book’ & he definitely achieved that much. It was as if he was writing as a time traveller, describing what he saw on his field trips to the Creataceous or the Silurian. 

It was wonderful to feel totally immersed in a world that has always felt so alien to me. I usually struggle reading books of this genre as they usually start at the beginning of life as we know it, the Ediacaran, working their way forwards to the present day. Otherlands however, goes in the opposite direction and I found that much easier to follow & visualise.

I think the magic of this book is how much detail is described about each species Halliday talks about, and the variety of species too. He talks of all forms of life, in all types of habitats. Mammals, insects, fish & marine mammals, birds, fungi, plants - even ferns, mosses, liverworts & lichens!

I must say it took me quite a long time to get through this book. I found it very slow to read, purely because of how much detail there was in each chapter. I wanted to take everything in and get the full experience, and it was definitely worth it - even though I had to speed read the last 90 pages before it was due back to the library…

On another note, reading this book led me to rewatching ‘Primeval’, the ITV series that aired in 2007. If you’ve seen it, let me know it is one of the best, most nostalgic British TV shows I watched as a kid - and if you haven't seen it, watch it, you will not be disappointed. Primeval was one of the things that first got me interested in dinosaurs & prehistoric creatures.

Under an ancient willow tree lies The Holt, the place where the otters of Green River live. Sedge the otter is the Queen’s son, he doesn’t care much for his royal duties & responsibilities. He’s always been suspicious that the rest of the otters at The Holt are keeping something from him…

Downstream, Silken lives in The Stronghold with her beaver family. She’s always felt out of place, like she doesn’t belong. She’s the only beaver who can sing & she can’t gnaw through wood like the others…

Both Sedge & Silken find themselves leaving home to find out the truth and set off on separate journeys into the river. But trouble is brewing. The river is rising and The Holt, along with many other animal homes, is at risk of flooding. Will Sedge & Silken find out the truth in time to save Green River?

The Story Of Green River was such a wholesome read. Such a great book for children to explore river ecosystems and the animals that live there. Highlights how important our rivers are for the survival of beavers, otters and other river dwellers like kingfishers, water voles and swans, whilst also shining a light on how vital these animals are for the health of our rivers.  

If you loved Gathering Moss by Robin Wall Kimmerer & Finding The Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard you need to read this book!

A blend of science, nature, folklore and a sprinkling of Whiteley’s childhood mushroom memories - I’d say this is part field guide, part nature memoir, part love letter to fungi - it was wonderful.

In this beautiful book Aliya Whiteley explores some of the magic of the fungi kingdom. From what a fungus is & how it’s classified, to mycorrhizal networks, to fungi that have the ability to consume plastic, hijack ants & survive in space… 

Whiteley talks through some of the 15,000 species of fungi we have in the UK, describing their appearance, sharing some nifty tips on how to identify them and any folklore attached to the species.

What I loved most about this book is how personal it felt. The whole book felt like a conversation, like I was learning all these incredible fungi facts alongside Whiteley. 

I absolutely devoured this in one sitting. It’s the perfect cosy, lighthearted read for this time of year - it gave all the autumnal vibes.

The Secret Life Of Fungi is the perfect book for any fungi lover - equally great for beginners as it is for fungi fanatics (and those of us inbetween)

What would happen if all 8 billion of us got ‘smooshed’ into one big, giant human? Let’s build a smooshing machine and find out… 

The Biggest Footprint provides an incredibly fun, interactive and visual way of starting a conversation with children, about how our actions affect the planet, by putting a variety of animals & objects into the smooshing machine - from burgers to rhinos 

This is a clever & creative story of our footprint, as a collective, as a species - covering a range of important issues such as animal agriculture, mineral mining, deforestation, palm oil  plantations, the illegal wildlife trade, fast fashion and plastic pollution, whilst highlighting the detrimental consequences all of these have on the planet we call home.

Although it covers a lot of serious topics, it is such a fun, lighthearted book which I think will play an important role in inspiring little ones, instilling an early connection to nature & a will to protect it. 

One of my favourite aspects of this book was how the animals were represented. Each animal mentioned (& beautifully illustrated) were ‘smooshed’ into mega animals, with their sizes representing how many of that species are still left in the wild today - with some of the biggest ‘mega animals’ being cows, chickens & pigs. 

The Biggest Footprint is an absolutely genius book, with an overall message of hope, I can see why it won the @wainwrightprize 

After separating from her partner during the uncertain times of lockdown, Nancy Campbell buys a caravan, gets her wonderful friend Sven to drive it to a glade next to a canal in Oxfordshire and lives there, building new friendships and allowing herself to come to terms with the loss of her relationship. 

Thunderstone is an extremely real & raw account of her experience living alone in her first home, tucked away by the canal, learning a new way of living.

This is the first book I’ve read from Campbell and now I see why she is an auto-buy author for so many people. Her writing is incredibly unique and special - there’s something cosy and charming about her words whilst also being laced with emotion. 

I savoured this one over a few months, slowly picking it up when I needed a cosy book to read in the evening. It is a lovely little book.

I really loved getting to know everyone in her new little community on the canal & surrounding areas. The cosiness in this book was immense, it felt like I was tagging along with Nancy visiting Sven & the assassin, planting new seeds next to the caravan and trying to solve the mysteries of the water heater. 

I now want to read all of Campbell’s other books - and plonk a caravan in the middle of the woods somewhere.

 

It’s 2030 and the Climate Crisis has hit the world at full force. New ‘Climate Laws’ have been laid out, completely banning the extraction & burning of fossil fuels and the production of single-use plastics, whilst heavily reducing the consumption of meat and dairy across the globe. World Wilderness Zones were established, acting as safe havens for wildlife - areas of conservation and rewilding. 

The world has finally come together to stop destroying ecosystems and to protect what little is left of the natural world. But, as Rory discovers, all is not as it seems…

Rory’s Mum, an environmental geologist, is bringing her along on a 6 week long work trip to Svalbard in the Arctic. Her Mum has just landed a new job with a sustainable energy company called Greenlight, and is carrying out research on the rare earth materials found in one of the Wilderness Zones in Pyramiden. 

They arrive to find a community of Sami people still living in the abandoned houses, refusing to leave the land they love and care for.

After befriending some of the local children, Rory learns that the island’s Reindeer are dying and that Greenlight are not at all as sustainable as they claim to be…

Beyond The Frozen Horizon is an absolutely beautiful introduction to so many important and relevant topics such as greenwashing, the exploitation of nature, the climate crisis & the importance of indigenous communities. Although quite heavy topics, Penfold incorporates them into the story in an exciting way, making it the perfect adventure read for kids. 

It reminded me a lot of Islands Of Abandonment by Cal Flyn, as if it got written into a fiction book.

I highly recommend this to anyone with little ones in their life - or, if you’re like me and love cosying up with a lighthearted children's book every now and then. I know I’ll be saving this one for if I ever have children of my own.