The March/April issue of Bookmarks has an article Nature and the Environment that explores "some books on classic nature writing and seminal works in the modern environmental movement." It includes a section on books for younger readers that highlights the following titles:
My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George
Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
The Sign of the Beaver by Elizabeth George Speare
Hoot by Carl Hiaason
Whalesong by Robert Siegel
Another thirteen books are on a Further Reading list.
I'm not knowledgeable enough about nature/environmental literature to address the question of how well these books fit the topic. The only title I've read among the five main offerings is Island of the Blue Dolphins, which I would have called a survival story. Though there's no reason it couldn't hit the mark for both survival and nature.
What I like about Bookmark's themed roundups is that it digs back into time for titles. The oldest children's book mentioned is My Side of the Mountain, from 1959. The newest, on the Further Reading list, is Empty by Suzanne Weyn, which Bookmark says is from last year. They appear to be referring to the paperback edition, but still, you see what I'm talking about here. The people who compile these books have memories that go back past last season.
I like Bookmarks, too. Definitely nice to see a mix of older and newer titles. They do reviews of YA books now, too, which is a plus for me.
ReplyDeleteFor a long time I was so focused on children's/YA, it was hard for me to have much idea of what was going on in adult books. I find lots of children's/YA blogs, for instance, but not many that focus on adult mainstream fiction. Even the people I friend at Goodreads tend to be children's/YA bloggers, so I see a lot of books for them there, but still not a lot of adult.
ReplyDeleteBookmarks helps with that.