Bringing Up Bébé meets Last Child in the Woods in this "fascinating exploration of the importance of the outdoors to childhood development" (Kirkus Reviews) from a Swedish-American mother who sets out to discover if the nature-centric parenting philosophy of her native Scandinavia holds the key to healthier, happier lives for her American children.
Could the Scandinavian philosophy of "Theres no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes" hold the key to happier, healthier lives for American children?
When Swedish-born Linda Åkeson McGurk moved to Indiana, she quickly learned that the nature-centric parenting philosophies of her native Scandinavia were not the norm. In Sweden, children play outdoors year-round, regardless of the weather, and letting babies nap outside in freezing temperatures is common and recommended by physicians. Preschoolers spend their days climbing trees, catching frogs, and learning to compost, and environmental education is a key part of the public-school curriculum. In the US, McGurk found the playgrounds deserted, and preschoolers were getting drilled on academics with little time for free play in nature. And when a swimming outing at a nearby creek ended with a fine from a park officer, McGurk realized that the parenting philosophies of her native country and her adopted homeland were worlds apart.
Struggling to decide what was best for her family, McGurk embarked on a six-month journey to Sweden with her two daughters to see how their lives would change in a place where spending time in nature is considered essential to a good childhood. Insightful and lively, Theres No Such Thing as Bad Weather is a fascinating personal narrative that illustrates how Scandinavian culture could hold the key to raising healthy, resilient, and confident children in America. Read more Continue reading Read less REVIEW
"Born and raised in Sweden with an ingrained appreciation for the outdoors, McGurk feels out of step with American culture when she tries to reproduce that childhood for her children in Indiana. Amusing interactions, such as one with a concerned motorist who passes her pushing her daughter in a stroller and walking her dog in midwinter, pepper the story ... .McGurks work will be encouraging to like-minded parents who feel American culture excessively emphasizes risk avoidance."
- Publishers Weekly
"The author expertly combines personal memories of her childhood and that of her children with scientific data and research to show the significant disparities in the way children interact with nature in [the U.S. and Sweden]... A fascinating exploration of the importance of the outdoors to childhood development."
- Kirkus Reviews
"Linda McGurk offers a perfect antidote to the hyper-vigilant, extra-electrified, standardized-tested, house-arrested, 21st-century childhood and the experts who push it. Practical and wise, Theres No Such Thing as Bad Weather proves just that, and much more."
- Richard Louv, bestselling author of LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS and VITAMIN N
"Theres nothing I love more than an author who gives parents a reason to feel optimistic, instead of telling us how were ruining our kids forever by (fill in the blank with something you used to do without thinking twice) . Linda Akeson McGurk is that optimism-granter. Plus, shes funny. What a great package!"
- Lenore Skenazy, author of FREE RANGE KIDS
"What an enjoyable romp through all the pleasures, benefits, and joy that free play and nature offer! Swedish-born McGurk guides the reader through all the delights that a varied outdoor life can afford. The book is packed with personal anecdotes and scientific studies, which provide the reader with nuanced insights into the potentials of open-air life in the most beautiful way. Everyone all over the world can gain something from the valuable wisdom found in this book. As a strong supporter of free play and its importance for childrens well-being, I highly recommend this book."
- Iben Dissing Sandahl, author of PLAY THE DANISH WAY and THE DANISH WAY OF PARENTING
"Children need fresh air, ample time to play, and freedom to take risks - something other cultures sometimes seem to understand far better than we do. In Theres No Such Thing as Bad Weather, Linda Akeson McGurk takes us inside the fascinating world of Scandinavian parenting with its refreshing and essential perspective on childhood. This is a heartfelt manifesto on the importance of the sort of unhurried, nature-rich childhood that every American child deserves."
- Christine Gross-Loh, author of THE PATH
"Smart, friendly and Swedish. Packed with sane ideas that will get your children outside, independent, and filled with the joy of living. This book will open your eyes - or maybe tempt you to move to Sweden. Now: Go outside and play!"
- Heather Shumaker, author of ITS OK NOT TO SHARE and ITS OK TO GO UP THE SLIDE
"I could not put this book down! Linda McGurk not only offers a fresh perspective about parenting and outdoor play from a Scandinavian viewpoint, but she is a fabulous storyteller and will hook you on the first page."
- Angela Hanscom, author of BALANCED AND BAREFOOT
"If Theres No Such Thing as Bad Weather doesnt make you want to move to Scandinavia, it will at least make you pledge to bring more Scandinavian habits into your life. With abundant warmth, humor, and important research, Linda Akeson McGurk makes the case for getting your family out into nature, no matter the season, and shares invaluable tips for enjoying the benefits of outdoor play, even in the land of mall-walking, videogames, and relentless academic pressure."
- Susan Sachs Lipman, author of FED UP WITH FRENZY
"Linda McGurks compelling book Theres No Such Thing as Bad Weather compares the Swedish and U.S. historical and current cultural differences in beliefs and practices regarding young children
Touchstone
|
9781501143625
|
Paperback
What It's Like to Be a Dog
By Berns, Gregory
What is it like to be a dog? A bat? Or a dolphin? To find out, neuroscientist Gregory Berns and his team began with a radical step: they taught dogs to go into an MRI scanner-completely awake. They discovered what makes dogs individuals with varying capacities for self-control, different value systems, and a complex understanding of human speech. And dogs were just the beginning. In What It's Like to Be a Dog, Berns explores the fascinating inner lives of wild animals from dolphins and sea lions to the extinct Tasmanian tiger. Much as Silent Spring transformed how we thought about the environment, so What It's Like to Be a Dog will fundamentally reshape how we think about-and treat-animals. Groundbreaking and deeply humane, it is essential reading for animal lovers of all stripes.
Basic Books
|
9780465096244
|
Hardcover
The Hidden Life of Wolves
By Dutcher, Jim
Detailing the emotional and social lives of the Sawtooth Pack, the authors recount wolf behavior rarely documented: grief at the death a pack mate; exuberant play and friendships; excitement over the birth of pups; and the shared role of raising young pack members, teaching them needed skills. They describe the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park and the cascade of positive results that followed. The return of wolves has helped revitalize the park's ecosystem, influencing elk, birds of prey, pronghorn, aspen trees, and trout. But the demonization of wolves continues as they struggle to reestablish their foothold in the American West. Ranchers, hunters, and biologists work to adapt to innovative solutions that encourage coexistence and reduce conflict.
National Geographic
|
9781426210129
|
Hardcover
An Indomitable Beast
By Rabinowitz, Alan
The jaguar is one of the most mysterious and least-known big cats of the world. The largest cat in the Americas, it has survived an onslaught of environmental and human threats partly because of an evolutionary history unique among wild felines, but also because of a power and indomitable spirit so strong, the jaguar has shaped indigenous cultures and the beliefs of early civilizations on two continents. In An Indomitable Beast: The Remarkable Journey of the Jaguar, big-cat expert Alan Rabinowitz shares his own personal journey to conserve a species that, despite its past resilience, is now on a slide toward extinction if something is not done to preserve the pathways it prowls through an ever-changing, ever-shifting landscape dominated by humans.
Island Press; 1 edition
|
9781597269964
|
Hardcover
Light from the Void
By Arcand, Kimberly K.
A lavish coffee-table book featuring spectacular images from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the most powerful X-Ray telescope ever builtTake a journey through the cosmos with Light from the Void, a stunning collection of photographs from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory's two decades of operation. The book showcases rarely-seen celestial phenomena such as black holes, planetary nebulae, galaxy clusters, gravitational waves, stellar birth and death, and more. Accompanying these images of incredible natural phenomena are captions explaining how they occur. The images start close to home and move outward: beginning with images of the Chandra launch, then moving into the solar system, through the nearby universe, and finally to the most distant galaxies Chandra has observed, the book brings readers on a far-out visual voyage.
Publisher: n/a
|
9781588346698
|
Hardcover
A Sea of Glass
By Harvell, Drew
It started with a glass octopus. Dusty, broken, and all but forgotten, it caught Drew Harvell's eye. Fashioned in intricate detail by the father-son glassmaking team of Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, the octopus belonged to a menagerie of unusual marine creatures that had been packed away for decades in a Corning Museum of Glass storage unit. More than 150 years earlier, the Blaschkas had been captivated by marine invertebrates and spun their likenesses into glass, documenting the life of oceans untouched by climate change and human impacts. Inspired by the Blaschkas' uncanny replicas, Harvell set out in search of their living counterparts. In A Sea of Glass, she recounts this journey of a lifetime, taking readers along as she dives beneath the ocean's surface to a rarely seen world, revealing the surprising and unusual biology of some of the most ancient animals on the tree of life.
University of California Press
|
9780520285682
|
Hardcover
A Traveler's Guide to the End of the World
By Gessner, David
Bestselling author David Gessner asks what kind of planet his daughter will inherit in this coast-to-coast guide to navigating climate crisis.
The world is burning and the seas are rising. How do we navigate this new age of extremes? In A Traveler's Guide to the End of the World, David Gessner takes readers on an eye-opening tour of climate hotspots from the Gulf of Mexico to the burning American West to New York City to the fragile Outer Banks, where homes are being swallowed by the seas. He does so with his usual sense of humor, compassion, and a willingness to talk to anyone, providing an informative and sobering yet convivial guide for the age of fire, heat, wind, and water.
Gessner approaches scientists and thinkers with a father's question: What will the world be like in forty-two years? Gessner was forty-two when his daughter, Hadley, was born.
Torrey House Press
|
9781948814812
|
Paperback
Puppy steps
By Rockaway, Libby
Aimed at youth and the young at heart, this 180-page book offers an easy to follow, comprehensive training system for new puppy owners. Direct thought expression, light dry humor, and hundreds of colorful photos, charts, and comic sketches of the main characters - Libby and Fido - keep the reader engaged and entertained. Libby Rockaway trained more than 40 puppies during her high school tenure and discovered that puppies learn amazing amounts of material from the minute they get home for both good and bad Based on this experience, plus years of instructing children while leading 4-H Dog Club and her Kids and Canines summer workshops, Libby developed this easy to follow training system to help new owners understand their pup and create a well mannered canine family member in just a few weeks.
Clovercroft Publishing ; Nicholasville
|
9781942557555
|
Print book
The Hidden Life of Trees
By Wohlleben, Peter
A forester's fascinating stories, supported by the latest scientific research, reveal the extraordinary world of forests and illustrate how trees communicate and care for each other. In "The Hidden Life of Trees, " Peter Wohlleben shares his deep love of woods and forests and explains the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in the woodland and the amazing scientific processes behind the wonders of which we are blissfully unaware. Much like human families, tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, and support them as they grow, sharing nutrients with those who are sick or struggling and creating an ecosystem that mitigates the impact of extremes of heat and cold for the whole group. As a result of such interactions, trees in a family or community are protected and can live to be very old. In contrast, solitary trees, like street kids, have a tough time of it and in most cases die much earlier than those in a group. Drawing on groundbreaking new discoveries, Wohlleben presents the science behind the secret and previously unknown life of trees and their communication abilities; he describes how these discoveries have informed his own practices in the forest around him.
Theres No Such Thing as Bad Weather
By Mcgurk, Linda Åkeson
Bringing Up Bébé meets Last Child in the Woods in this "fascinating exploration of the importance of the outdoors to childhood development" (Kirkus Reviews) from a Swedish-American mother who sets out to discover if the nature-centric parenting philosophy of her native Scandinavia holds the key to healthier, happier lives for her American children. Could the Scandinavian philosophy of "Theres no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes" hold the key to happier, healthier lives for American children? When Swedish-born Linda Åkeson McGurk moved to Indiana, she quickly learned that the nature-centric parenting philosophies of her native Scandinavia were not the norm. In Sweden, children play outdoors year-round, regardless of the weather, and letting babies nap outside in freezing temperatures is common and recommended by physicians. Preschoolers spend their days climbing trees, catching frogs, and learning to compost, and environmental education is a key part of the public-school curriculum. In the US, McGurk found the playgrounds deserted, and preschoolers were getting drilled on academics with little time for free play in nature. And when a swimming outing at a nearby creek ended with a fine from a park officer, McGurk realized that the parenting philosophies of her native country and her adopted homeland were worlds apart. Struggling to decide what was best for her family, McGurk embarked on a six-month journey to Sweden with her two daughters to see how their lives would change in a place where spending time in nature is considered essential to a good childhood. Insightful and lively, Theres No Such Thing as Bad Weather is a fascinating personal narrative that illustrates how Scandinavian culture could hold the key to raising healthy, resilient, and confident children in America. Read more Continue reading Read less REVIEW "Born and raised in Sweden with an ingrained appreciation for the outdoors, McGurk feels out of step with American culture when she tries to reproduce that childhood for her children in Indiana. Amusing interactions, such as one with a concerned motorist who passes her pushing her daughter in a stroller and walking her dog in midwinter, pepper the story ... .McGurks work will be encouraging to like-minded parents who feel American culture excessively emphasizes risk avoidance." - Publishers Weekly "The author expertly combines personal memories of her childhood and that of her children with scientific data and research to show the significant disparities in the way children interact with nature in [the U.S. and Sweden]... A fascinating exploration of the importance of the outdoors to childhood development." - Kirkus Reviews "Linda McGurk offers a perfect antidote to the hyper-vigilant, extra-electrified, standardized-tested, house-arrested, 21st-century childhood and the experts who push it. Practical and wise, Theres No Such Thing as Bad Weather proves just that, and much more." - Richard Louv, bestselling author of LAST CHILD IN THE WOODS and VITAMIN N "Theres nothing I love more than an author who gives parents a reason to feel optimistic, instead of telling us how were ruining our kids forever by (fill in the blank with something you used to do without thinking twice) . Linda Akeson McGurk is that optimism-granter. Plus, shes funny. What a great package!" - Lenore Skenazy, author of FREE RANGE KIDS "What an enjoyable romp through all the pleasures, benefits, and joy that free play and nature offer! Swedish-born McGurk guides the reader through all the delights that a varied outdoor life can afford. The book is packed with personal anecdotes and scientific studies, which provide the reader with nuanced insights into the potentials of open-air life in the most beautiful way. Everyone all over the world can gain something from the valuable wisdom found in this book. As a strong supporter of free play and its importance for childrens well-being, I highly recommend this book." - Iben Dissing Sandahl, author of PLAY THE DANISH WAY and THE DANISH WAY OF PARENTING "Children need fresh air, ample time to play, and freedom to take risks - something other cultures sometimes seem to understand far better than we do. In Theres No Such Thing as Bad Weather, Linda Akeson McGurk takes us inside the fascinating world of Scandinavian parenting with its refreshing and essential perspective on childhood. This is a heartfelt manifesto on the importance of the sort of unhurried, nature-rich childhood that every American child deserves." - Christine Gross-Loh, author of THE PATH "Smart, friendly and Swedish. Packed with sane ideas that will get your children outside, independent, and filled with the joy of living. This book will open your eyes - or maybe tempt you to move to Sweden. Now: Go outside and play!" - Heather Shumaker, author of ITS OK NOT TO SHARE and ITS OK TO GO UP THE SLIDE "I could not put this book down! Linda McGurk not only offers a fresh perspective about parenting and outdoor play from a Scandinavian viewpoint, but she is a fabulous storyteller and will hook you on the first page." - Angela Hanscom, author of BALANCED AND BAREFOOT "If Theres No Such Thing as Bad Weather doesnt make you want to move to Scandinavia, it will at least make you pledge to bring more Scandinavian habits into your life. With abundant warmth, humor, and important research, Linda Akeson McGurk makes the case for getting your family out into nature, no matter the season, and shares invaluable tips for enjoying the benefits of outdoor play, even in the land of mall-walking, videogames, and relentless academic pressure." - Susan Sachs Lipman, author of FED UP WITH FRENZY "Linda McGurks compelling book Theres No Such Thing as Bad Weather compares the Swedish and U.S. historical and current cultural differences in beliefs and practices regarding young children
What It's Like to Be a Dog
By Berns, Gregory
What is it like to be a dog? A bat? Or a dolphin? To find out, neuroscientist Gregory Berns and his team began with a radical step: they taught dogs to go into an MRI scanner-completely awake. They discovered what makes dogs individuals with varying capacities for self-control, different value systems, and a complex understanding of human speech. And dogs were just the beginning. In What It's Like to Be a Dog, Berns explores the fascinating inner lives of wild animals from dolphins and sea lions to the extinct Tasmanian tiger. Much as Silent Spring transformed how we thought about the environment, so What It's Like to Be a Dog will fundamentally reshape how we think about-and treat-animals. Groundbreaking and deeply humane, it is essential reading for animal lovers of all stripes.
The Hidden Life of Wolves
By Dutcher, Jim
Detailing the emotional and social lives of the Sawtooth Pack, the authors recount wolf behavior rarely documented: grief at the death a pack mate; exuberant play and friendships; excitement over the birth of pups; and the shared role of raising young pack members, teaching them needed skills. They describe the reintroduction of wolves into Yellowstone National Park and the cascade of positive results that followed. The return of wolves has helped revitalize the park's ecosystem, influencing elk, birds of prey, pronghorn, aspen trees, and trout. But the demonization of wolves continues as they struggle to reestablish their foothold in the American West. Ranchers, hunters, and biologists work to adapt to innovative solutions that encourage coexistence and reduce conflict.
An Indomitable Beast
By Rabinowitz, Alan
The jaguar is one of the most mysterious and least-known big cats of the world. The largest cat in the Americas, it has survived an onslaught of environmental and human threats partly because of an evolutionary history unique among wild felines, but also because of a power and indomitable spirit so strong, the jaguar has shaped indigenous cultures and the beliefs of early civilizations on two continents. In An Indomitable Beast: The Remarkable Journey of the Jaguar, big-cat expert Alan Rabinowitz shares his own personal journey to conserve a species that, despite its past resilience, is now on a slide toward extinction if something is not done to preserve the pathways it prowls through an ever-changing, ever-shifting landscape dominated by humans.
Light from the Void
By Arcand, Kimberly K.
A lavish coffee-table book featuring spectacular images from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, the most powerful X-Ray telescope ever builtTake a journey through the cosmos with Light from the Void, a stunning collection of photographs from the Chandra X-Ray Observatory's two decades of operation. The book showcases rarely-seen celestial phenomena such as black holes, planetary nebulae, galaxy clusters, gravitational waves, stellar birth and death, and more. Accompanying these images of incredible natural phenomena are captions explaining how they occur. The images start close to home and move outward: beginning with images of the Chandra launch, then moving into the solar system, through the nearby universe, and finally to the most distant galaxies Chandra has observed, the book brings readers on a far-out visual voyage.
A Sea of Glass
By Harvell, Drew
It started with a glass octopus. Dusty, broken, and all but forgotten, it caught Drew Harvell's eye. Fashioned in intricate detail by the father-son glassmaking team of Leopold and Rudolf Blaschka, the octopus belonged to a menagerie of unusual marine creatures that had been packed away for decades in a Corning Museum of Glass storage unit. More than 150 years earlier, the Blaschkas had been captivated by marine invertebrates and spun their likenesses into glass, documenting the life of oceans untouched by climate change and human impacts. Inspired by the Blaschkas' uncanny replicas, Harvell set out in search of their living counterparts. In A Sea of Glass, she recounts this journey of a lifetime, taking readers along as she dives beneath the ocean's surface to a rarely seen world, revealing the surprising and unusual biology of some of the most ancient animals on the tree of life.
A Traveler's Guide to the End of the World
By Gessner, David
Bestselling author David Gessner asks what kind of planet his daughter will inherit in this coast-to-coast guide to navigating climate crisis. The world is burning and the seas are rising. How do we navigate this new age of extremes? In A Traveler's Guide to the End of the World, David Gessner takes readers on an eye-opening tour of climate hotspots from the Gulf of Mexico to the burning American West to New York City to the fragile Outer Banks, where homes are being swallowed by the seas. He does so with his usual sense of humor, compassion, and a willingness to talk to anyone, providing an informative and sobering yet convivial guide for the age of fire, heat, wind, and water. Gessner approaches scientists and thinkers with a father's question: What will the world be like in forty-two years? Gessner was forty-two when his daughter, Hadley, was born.
Puppy steps
By Rockaway, Libby
Aimed at youth and the young at heart, this 180-page book offers an easy to follow, comprehensive training system for new puppy owners. Direct thought expression, light dry humor, and hundreds of colorful photos, charts, and comic sketches of the main characters - Libby and Fido - keep the reader engaged and entertained. Libby Rockaway trained more than 40 puppies during her high school tenure and discovered that puppies learn amazing amounts of material from the minute they get home for both good and bad Based on this experience, plus years of instructing children while leading 4-H Dog Club and her Kids and Canines summer workshops, Libby developed this easy to follow training system to help new owners understand their pup and create a well mannered canine family member in just a few weeks.
The Hidden Life of Trees
By Wohlleben, Peter
A forester's fascinating stories, supported by the latest scientific research, reveal the extraordinary world of forests and illustrate how trees communicate and care for each other. In "The Hidden Life of Trees, " Peter Wohlleben shares his deep love of woods and forests and explains the amazing processes of life, death, and regeneration he has observed in the woodland and the amazing scientific processes behind the wonders of which we are blissfully unaware. Much like human families, tree parents live together with their children, communicate with them, and support them as they grow, sharing nutrients with those who are sick or struggling and creating an ecosystem that mitigates the impact of extremes of heat and cold for the whole group. As a result of such interactions, trees in a family or community are protected and can live to be very old. In contrast, solitary trees, like street kids, have a tough time of it and in most cases die much earlier than those in a group. Drawing on groundbreaking new discoveries, Wohlleben presents the science behind the secret and previously unknown life of trees and their communication abilities; he describes how these discoveries have informed his own practices in the forest around him.