This exquisitely illustrated treasury of narrative nonfiction stories about the natural world, organized season by season and around the world, shows children the infinite beauty and variety of nature in every part of the planet. Arranged around the full cycle of a calendar year, each month chapter features four stories each from a different part of the world to show that while somewhere it is hot summer, somewhere else is in the middle of winter, while some are dry and others are rainy. 48 story spreads tell fascinating single stories of animals and nature from each month of the year, showing how the changing of the seasons takes place around the world, promoting an international sense of the weather, seasons and cycles of nature from very big, to ever-so-small. This captivating book will transport readers across the globe, teaching them about the different kinds of weather and wildlife all across the planet.

A fun exploration of the darker side of the natural world reveals the fascinating, weird, often perverted ways that Mother Nature fends only for herself. It may be a wonderful world, but as Dan Riskin (cohost of Discovery Canada’s Daily Planet) explains, it’s also a dangerous, disturbing, and disgusting one. At every turn, it seems, living things are trying to eat us, poison us, use our bodies as their homes, or have us spread their eggs. In Mother Nature Is Trying to Kill You, Riskin is our guide through the natural world at its most gloriously ruthless. Using the seven deadly sins as a road map, Riskin offers dozens of jaw-dropping examples that illuminate how brutal nature can truly be. From slothful worms that hide in your body for up to thirty years to wrathful snails with poisonous harpoons that can kill you in less than five minutes to lustful ducks that have orgasms faster than you can blink, these fascinating accounts reveal the candid truth about “gentle” Mother Nature’s true colors. Riskin’s passion for the strange and his enthusiastic expertise bring Earth’s most fascinating flora and fauna into vivid focus. Through his adventures— which include sliding on his back through a thick soup of bat guano just to get face-to-face with a vampire bat, befriending a parasitic maggot that has taken root on his head, and coming to grips with having offspring of his own—Riskin makes unexpected discoveries not just about the world all around us but also about the ways this brutal world has shaped us as humans and what our responsibilities are to this terrible, wonderful planet we call home.

Did you know that Mother Nature's home - our Planet Earth - is over 4.5 BILLION years old? And she's been looking after it since day one. That makes her pretty old! It's only in the last 100 years, though, that she has really begun to feel tired. So, littlies, open your minds, your eyes and your imaginations, for you're about to learn how to keep our dear Mother Nature awake for billions of years to come.

How still it is! Nobody in the village street, the children all at school, and the very dogs sleeping lazily in the sunshine. Only a south wind blows lightly through the trees, lifting the great fans of the horse-chestnut, tossing the slight branches of the elm against the sky like single feathers of a great plume, and swinging out fragrance from the heavy-hanging linden-blossoms.

This brief but ambitious book explores our relationship with nature through the imagery we use when we talk about Mother Nature. Employing the critical tools of religious studies, psychology, and gender studies, Catherine M. Roach examines the various manifestations of nature as "mother" and what that idea implies for the way we approach the natural world. Part One, "Nature as Good Mother," discusses the notion that nature is, or is like, a beneficent and nurturing mother who provides and maintains life. In studying the "green" slogan "Love Your Mother," Roach questions the effects-for women and for the environment-of imputing female gender to nature. She asks us to look at the associations "motherhood" and "mothering" carry within a culture still shaped by patriarchy. She notes the danger of such an apparently pro-environmental slogan if "mother" evokes the bountiful, self-sacrificing provider who herself requires no care.Part Two, "Nature as Bad Mother," looks at the contrary notion of nature as a violent, threatening, and wrathful mother. This image arises most often when humans and technology are depicted as masters of unruly nature. Here Roach draws on theological reflection to analyze this ambivalence toward nature manifested in a fantasy that casts humans as gods. She explores the contributions of eco-theology and eco-psychology to a "heart of darkness" perspective. Finally, Part Three, "Nature as Hurt Mother," looks at possibilities and pitfalls of environmental healing inherent in the image of nature as a mother we have wounded and now seek to heal.ALSO OF INTEREST ECOFEMINISMWomen, Culture, NatureEdited by Karen J. Warren0-253-33031-9 HB £37.950-253-21057-7 PB £18.95

Living With Mother Nature—and Other Things Learned in the Wild “Having this book in your backpack just may save your life one day.” —Jesse Weiland, national park ranger #1 New Release in Earth Sciences, Natural Disasters Prepare for all the worst case scenarios mother earth throws at you with Mother Nature is Not Trying to Kill You—the only survival kit you need to overcome wildlife, natural disasters, and everything else outdoors. Survive the unexpected. Statistically, you’re more likely to die from a vending machine than a shark. But, Rob Nelson knows many shark survivors. His college girlfriend was attacked by a crocodile and his roommate, a grizzly bear. His wife was sucked by a wave down a blowhole, he was left stranded at sea after a storm sank his sailboat, and the list goes on and on. To Rob, these “improbable” altercations are “random acts of nature,” and he’s learned how to survive them. On knots, poisonous plants, and natural disasters. Featuring 52 challenges you can encounter in the wilderness, this survival guide is your year-long crash course for ultimate disaster management. Whether you’re preparing for a moose attack or a nuclear fallout, Mother Nature is Not Trying to Kill You enables you to confront the natural world with skill and confidence. This wilderness survival guidebook also includes: • Pop culture examples like Jaws and The Revenant • Nature and science-packed stories and narratives • Diagrams, survival tips, and more! If you enjoyed books like Bushcraft 101, The Worst Case Scenario, or SAS Survival Handbook, then Mother Nature is Not Trying to Kill You is your next read!

With the help of her beloved grandmother, Tess learns some valuable lessons about plants and discover the wonders and joys of nature.

A humorous and rousing set of literal and figurative sojourns as well as a mission statement about comprehending, protecting, and truly experiencing the outdoors, fueled by three journeys undertaken by actor, humorist, and New York Times bestselling author Nick Offerman Nick Offerman has always felt a particular affection for the Land of the Free—not just for the people and their purported ideals but to the actual land itself: the bedrock, the topsoil, and everything in between that generates the health of your local watershed. In his new book, Nick takes a humorous, inspiring, and elucidating trip to America's trails, farms, and frontier to examine the people who inhabit the land, what that has meant to them and us, and to the land itself, both historically and currently. In 2018, Wendell Berry posed a question to Nick, a query that planted the seed of this book, sending Nick on two memorable journeys with pals—a hiking trip to Glacier National Park with his friends Jeff Tweedy and George Saunders, as well as an extended visit to his friend James Rebanks, the author of The Shepherd's Life and English Pastoral. He followed that up with an excursion that could only have come about in 2020—Nick and his wife, Megan Mullally, bought an Airstream trailer to drive across (several of) the United States. These three quests inspired some “deep-ish" thinking from Nick, about the history and philosophy of our relationship with nature in our national parks, in our farming, and in our backyards; what we mean when we talk about conservation; and the importance of outdoor recreation, all subjects very close to Nick's heart. With witty, heartwarming stories and a keen insight into the human problems we all confront, this is both a ramble through and celebration of the land we all love.

In this poignant story about the friendship between a dandelion and a sparrow, young readers are given a reassuring, yet emotionally powerful introduction to the natural cycle of life. One fine summer day, when Sparrow meets a dandelion with only 10 seed pods left, he asks how he can help. Dandelion laments that a short while ago, she was the brightest yellow, but now a strong wind could blow away her remaining pods and no one will remember her. Together, they decide to write Dandelion's story in the dirt, and so Dandelion tells Sparrow all the things she has seen and loved. Later that night, a storm changes everything. . . . But the tale of Dandelion lives on.

Geologist Em Hansen digs into greed, deception, murder...and other natural disasters. Looking to distract herself from the grief she feels over her father's recent death, geologist Em Hansen agrees to investigate the rocky murder of fellow geologist Janet Pinchon.Asked to step in by Janet's father, a powerful senator, Em travels to Northern California where Janet's body was found in a roadside ditch. Soon hired by the environmental firm where Janet worked, Em steps into her life to find some answers. But shadowed by the darkness of her own past, Em must face more than shady politicians, greedy land developers, and an endangered ecosystem. This spunky geologist must grapple with her deepest fears to survive an assault be a vengeful Mother Nature...and a killer with a hear of stone.