The Little Picnic Book

Proud holder of the California Reading Association Eureka Silver Award for 2024.

Using little stories about environmental protection, this beautifully illustrated book will enchant readers with its vivid landscapes.

In this book, young readers will embark on an inspiring ecological journey to learn about the importance of protecting our planet. Through a series of captivating stories, kids will learn about topics such as biodiversity, deforestation, and how each and every person can make a positive impact on our environment.

Each page is filled with illustrations that vividly bring to life the natural world, from lush green forests to deep blue oceans. The stories and images create a powerful and inspiring message about the beauty and fragility of our planet. Young readers are encouraged to think deeply about their own impact on the environment and are asked to consider important questions about how they can make a difference.

Sections include:

• Our Lifestyle: We must give back to nature, which provides us with food, water, air, and sunshine, and remember that we share this planet with other living beings.

• Connections: Our well-being depends on fulfilling essential needs like clean air, water, nutrients, and socializing.

• Modern Life: A girl named Jane’s unhealthy lifestyle caused exhaustion by overconsuming, being inactive, and using her phone excessively, leading to less enjoyment of life.

• A Call for Help: Jane’s exhaustion underscores the importance of us meeting our basic needs, and it also mirrors our need to care for the planet.

• Land Conservation: Sir David Attenborough expresses his concern for the Earth due to human activities that harm the environment, but he also holds hope for a better future.

• Ecological Footprints: The Earth and we people have limits, and ecological footprints help us measure how our actions impact the planet, reminding us to use natural resources wisely.

• Rainforests: Rainforests, like the Amazon, absorb and store carbon dioxide, acting as "the lungs of the planet" and purifying the air for humans.

• Biodiversity: Rainforests exhibit high biodiversity, but human activities like farming and economic development are continually leading to their loss.

• Deforestation: Deforestation and human activities harm rainforests, reducing biodiversity, valuable species, and the forest’s carbon processing ability, exacerbating global warming.

• Farming: We often overlook the impact of our actions on nature, using more and more land for food production.

• Our Species: Human actions are harming the planet by depleting resources and causing pollution. We must remedy this.

• The Miracle of the Ocean: The ocean regulates temperature, absorbs CO₂, and its plant life absorbs more greenhouse gases than land forests.

• The Coral Reef: The ocean absorbs CO₂ and is crucial for life, but its acidity is harming underwater life. Coral reefs are being destroyed by global warming and overfishing.

• Commercial Fishing: Fishing harms ocean life, and fish farming can be harmful.

• The Ocean: Sustainable fishing means only catching what we need to eat, giving the ocean time to recover, and not relying too much on fishing.

• The Earth Has a Fever: Human progress has harmful consequences: greenhouse gases warm the planet, leading to devastating outcomes.

• Ecological Extinction: The Earth’s getting hotter causes air pollution, water contamination, and wildfires that damage nature irreparably.

• Balance: Balance and stability in the ecosystem are crucial for our well-being, and it’s up to us to take care of our bodies and maintain a healthy environment.

• Balance Restored: Jane found balance in nature, friendships, healthy food, and rest, which brought joy and transformed sadness.

• What Can We Do For You, Earth?: Sustaining biodiversity in rainforests and oceans, reducing waste, meat consumption, and embracing reusable products can support the environment.

In Nature, children aged 7–11 will learn about the importance of preserving the natural world, and be inspired to take action to protect it. This book is perfect for kids who are curious about the world around them, and who want to make a positive difference in their communities and beyond.

“Make this book your friend,” says Arianna Huffington.

James Thornton’s Nature, My Teacher, is a powerful guide to being human in a time of eco-crisis.

In Nature, My Teacher, poet, lawyer and founder of top global environmental group ClientEarth, James Thornton offers a meditation on being alive while the planet fights to survive. He explores topics such as memory, climate anxiety, and human consciousness through a series of short essays, arranged into twelve “books”, each closing with a poem and a photo to leave readers in a reflective space.

As a Zen priest from Los Angeles, James contemplates what he has learnt from observing and listening to nature, and shows that when the planet is hurting, we too feel its pain.

The way this book is opening hearts and minds is remarkable. Arianna Huffington found it “powerful and moving”, Zen abbot and author Joan Halifax sums: “A profound guide to discovering the great wisdom in the natural world, this book…is a treasure for all”.

Find connection with the land and feed your family locally, seasonally, and sustainably

Nourish your family from nature's pantry. Foraging as a Way of Life documents twelve months of wildcrafting, featuring five different plants each month for a full year of abundant, local, and seasonal eating. Enhance your sense of self-sufficiency while increasing food security, protecting habitat, and connecting with the land.

Full-color and lavishly illustrated, this accessible, in-depth resource features:

• Accurate and detailed descriptions of herbs, mushrooms, berries, and other wild plants to avoid confusion and inspire confidence when determining plant identification.
• Foraging recipes for remedies, tonics, syrups, and unique handcrafted dishes incorporating wild ingredients—feast on rosehip soup with pan-fried dandelion flowers, followed by birch- bark cookies or chicory chocolate bars.
• Extensive guidance for safe processing or consumption of each species, including cautions, lookalikes, and tips for sustainable harvesting.

Drawing on the author's field experience and her study of herbalism and ethnobotany, Foraging as a Way of Life is designed to inspire readers to share the exuberance and joy of wild foods while finding nourishment and connection in their local fields or forests. A must for every gardener who would like to gather dinner while weeding, for those wishing to learn sustainable harvesting while hiking, or for anyone who wants to create healthy, foraged meals while living lightly on the planet.

Rewild Your Mind shows you how to connect with nature to be happier, healthier and more at peace with the world around you.

Packed with wilderness skills and traditional crafts – from fixing a hammock in the woods and foraging for hedgerow medicine to finding moments of 'wild' in the everyday – this unique book enables readers to boost their wellbeing through getting outside. It is an invitation to reset, recharge and 'rewild' yourself.

Weaved through the book is Nick Goldsmith's personal story of using nature to aid his recovery from PTSD. After several tours serving as a Royal Marine Commando in Afghanistan, Nick was left in a dark and desperate place. He tried conventional therapies but found true solace amongst nature, and now enables others to do the same.