Links to book reviews from the AEOE newsletters, other reviews, and an
ever-growing list of books you can use in environmental and outdoor education
(Yes, there
is more than The Lorax out there!) The focus here is mostly on books
you can read to your students out on the trail, use as story-starters, openers
for activities, or closing thoughts. Please tell me what books you use,
so I can include them here! Email me your ideas at
Resources for books | Rationale for using Stories | How to integrate stories into your curriculum | Suggested books | Search for books
Children's
Book Press (CBP) is a nonprofit publisher of multicultural and bilingual
children's picture books. We view our efforts as part of a larger movement
to create a children's literature of inclusion, giving all children a
sense of their culture, history, and importance. When Harriet Rohmer
founded CBP in 1975, it became one of the country's first publishers
to focus exclusively on quality literature for children of Latino/Chicano,
African American, Asian American, and Native American communities. Our
early books were tales from the oral tradition of indigenous peoples
from across the Americas. Soon we included stories set in the contemporary
United States, poetry collections, and multicultural anthologies. Our
authors and artists continue to have a strong commitment to and connection
with their communities, and many are activists committed to affecting
social change. CBP has won numerous awards for its authentic multicultural
literature and has served as a role model for many mainstream publishers.
We have always been located in the Bay Area and since August of 2000
we have been a proud resident of San Francisco's vibrant Mission District.
See the AEOE Diversity in Environmental
Education pages for more recommendations for Multicultural EE books 
Visit
Powell's, the "Scenic City of Books" - Legendary independent
bookstore with new, used, rare books online. Search at
bottom of page - purchasing books through
this link to Powell's will give AEOE a
percentage of the sales - they have new, used and rare books at great prices,
and you'll be helping AEOE! Sierra Club Books for Children. Go Wild!
-
Children's Picture Books, Middle Readers, Young Adults - purchasing through
this link to Sierra Club books will give AEOE a percentage of the sales
- they also have many other items in their store, and you'll be helping
AEOE!
Science is our way of explaining the world around us - and so are stories. In a sense, stories are an early form of science - just another way people have tried to explain the world to themselves - stories and legends just do it in a different way. All ways are needed to reach all students, and the scientific ways can sometimes be more accessible if reached through the "back door" of story. Reading a story to students outside on the trail, in the ecosystem, helps to calm and focus them, helps to bring together the various parts of what they've learned, can be used as a "set" to spark their interest, or to start a discussion, or as inspiration for their own writing about what they are learning, or as a wrap-up to bring it all together. Stories are magical - the most active, squirrelly, talkative groups of students will settle right down and listen to a story in a way they won't listen at any other time. Making any part of your lesson into a story is a wonderful technique for this reason. The storyteller Susan Strauss, author of The Passionate Fact: Storytelling in Natural History and Cultural Interpretation says that story is like a net which connects us all, and when you are telling or listening to the story, you are touching that net, and feel that connection through space and time. (Read more about Susan Strauss in the Spring 2000 AEOE newsletter - she was a speaker at the statewide AEOE conference that year.)
Another resource: Storytellers needed for Environmental Education great article!
Stories can be a great way to introduce a topic and pique student interest for what they might learn, or to introduce and activity to help them get ready to participate. Stories can also be used as a way to wrap up a lesson, or unit, or week. Or to start a discussion. Or just for a break!
If you worry students won't want to be read aloud to, that they feel like you are "treating them like little kids," here are some good techniques for getting them to accept being read to:
- If you are telling a legend or a myth as an intro to something, tell them that stories were people's way of explaining the world around them - much like science is our way of explaining the world around us today. Stories have truths in them, if you listen well, and in a sense, they are an early form of science!
- Tell them that, yes, these stories are not at their reading level, but if you read a story that was at their level, you would be here all week! However, these stories have excellent illustrations and deal with the topics we are learning very well. We will go into depth, but these stories are a good introduction.
- Get them to play along - I tell the students, "Okay, when I say this next thing, I want you to pretend you are in Kindergarten and say "yayyy!"" Then I say, "It's story time!" in my best Romper Room voice, and the students never fail to say "Yayyyy!!" Especially at the 5th-6th grade level - they never want to be talked down to or treated like little kids, but they actually enjoy pretending to be little kids. Big difference, since pretending implies they are NOT little kids, so it reinforces their maturity, in an odd twist. But it works!
- I have them get comfortable, telling them they can even lie down if they want, but they must be at least sitting. I also let them know my expectations for how they should behave while I am reading. I tell them I am easily distracted, and I'm a much better storyteller with a good audience, so during the story, no talking, hold questions for the end. If there are small disruptions, I pause and look at the student and wait, and they usually immediately know that I mean it and quiet down.
- Depending on the story, I will talk about metaphor before reading it - you can read this story on the surface as a simple children's book, yet underneath there are layers of meaning ("like an onion"!). See if you are mature enough to find the metaphor in this story... then discuss what metaphors, what different meanings, they got out of the story after you are finished. I have discovered new metaphors this way! A story I particularly like doing this with is "In a Nutshell," and it also works well with most Dr. Seuss books.
These are a few of the books I have used on the trail at outdoor science school,
and a few others have used and told me about. This is obviously NOT a definitive
list! Just a few books that I know work in an outdoor/trail lesson setting.
If you have a book you use that is not on here,
and I will
include it. Better yet, write up a review of the book and how you use it, so
it can go in the AEOE newsletters, too! Hope
you
find
some
stories
you
can
use
here.
Enjoy.
Children's Literature for the Trail Bookshelf
Purchase all these books online through AEOE partner, Powells.com. Click here to see these books and more, including an entire page of Byrd Baylor books!
Lifetimes.
Rice, D.L. (1997/ Dawn Publications.
- book review The
Drop in My Drink: The Story of Water on Our Planet Lifetimes.
Rice, D.L. (1997/ Dawn Publications.
- book review Earthsteps,
A Rock’s Journey through Time The Pebble in My Pocket Lifetimes.
Rice, D.L. (1997/ Dawn Publications.
- book review Dear
Children of the Earth : a letter from home, Schim Schimmel, North Word
Press, 1994. ISBN: 1559712252. Review
Children
of the Earth... Remember, Schim Schimmel, North Word Press, 1997. ISBN:
1559716401. Review
Lifetimes.
Rice, D.L. (1997/ Dawn Publications.
- book review Dear
Children of the Earth : a letter from home, Schim Schimmel, North Word
Press, 1994. ISBN: 1559712252. Review
Children
of the Earth... Remember, Schim Schimmel, North Word Press, 1997. ISBN:
1559716401. Review
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Check out this Alibris "Storefront" for new ideas: Children's Nature & Ecology Books Try these subject searches: Outdoor Education, Nature Education, Nature Study, Juvenile Nonfiction: Nature, Juvenile Fiction: Nature and the Natural World, California Ecology or try your own. Tip: Once you find a book you like, click on "more like this" to unearth forgotten treasures! Add California, Young Adult, or Juvenile to any of these subject categories to further limit results. See "related subjects" or "subcategories" for more links. Have fun! |