How the World Looks to a Bee

edited by Don Glass

What can you learn about your world in just a moment? Have you ever wondered why the sky is blue? Or whether dogs can read our facial expressions? Don Glass and experts in their fields answer these questions and many more. Written for readers of all ages with no background in science required, How the World Looks to a Bee is the perfect armchair companion for curious people who want to know more about the science of everyday life but have only a moment to spare. With intriguing everyday phenomena as a starting point, this entertaining collectionuses short tutorials and quick and simple experiments to invite readers to test the science for themselves. These fascinating and topical science stories are sure to delight the curious child in all of us.

Paperback, 248 pages. /// $15.00 /// Randy’s Price on Bookshop $13.80

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How to Survive as a Firefly

by Kristen Foote, Illustrated by Erica Salcedo

Listen up, larvae! I’ve been in the trenches for the last year and a half, and let me tell you, there is danger lurking behind every tree and headlight. With my expertise, you’ll learn how to hunt your first meal (snail soup anyone?), what makes your abdomen glow (put down the fire extinguisher!), and how to react when your mate wants to eat you for dinner (who knew fireflies could be cannibals?). Buck up, buttercup – you’re in for the flight of your life! If you know what’s good for you, you’ll stop goofing around and pay attention to How to Survive as a Firefly, or you might never make it to adulthood!How to Survive as a Firefly provides a unique take on insect science that will entertain and educate in and out of the classroom. Full of opportunities for extended learning, this book includes fun facts hidden throughout the hilarious illustrated story – and after, a glossary of important terms and some real photos of fireflies. If you’ve ever wondered how these fascinating beetles grow and glow, and you like to laugh while you learn, this book is for you!

Hardcover, 36 pages. /// $16.99 /// Randy’s Price on Bookshop $15.63

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Insects: By the Numbers

by Steve Jenkins

Through infographics and illustrations readers will learn about the sometimes gross and absolutely always fascinating world of insects. With astounding numbers, facts, and figures, discover some of the most astonishing aspects of the animals that outnumber us humans on the planet: bugs!With Steve Jenkins’s signature art style, his By the Numbers reader series explores the most fascinating fields of nature and natural science. These readers are fact-packed and run the gamut from dinosaurs to dwarf planets, detailing the astonishing phenomena that make our universe such an incredible place to live and learn. Each title uses engaging graphics and visual literacy to convey scientific facts and concepts, making them accessible for all kinds of new readers.

Paperback, 40 pages. /// $5.99 /// Randy’s Price on Bookshop $5.51

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Our Wild Calling: How Connecting with Animals Can Transform Our Lives–And Save Theirs

by Richard Louv

Richard Louv’s landmark book, Last Child in the Woods, inspired an international movement to connect children and nature. Now Louv redefines the future of human-animal coexistence. Our Wild Calling explores these powerful and mysterious bonds and how they can transform our mental, physical, and spiritual lives, serve as an antidote to the growing epidemic of human loneliness, and help us tap into the empathy required to preserve life on Earth. Our Wild Calling makes the case for protecting, promoting, and creating a sustainable and shared habitat for all creatures–not out of fear, but out of love. Transformative and inspiring, this book points us toward what we all long for in the age of technology: real connection.

Hardcover, 320 pages. /// $27.95. /// Randy’s Price on Bookshop $25.16

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Also check out and support the Children & Nature Network which has come about from Richard’s work.

Special Offer: The Curious Nature Guide

by Clare Walker Leslie

With dozens of simple prompts and exercises, best-selling author, naturalist, and artist Clare Walker Leslie offers adults of all ages an invitation to step outside for just a few minutes a day, reignite the sense of wonder and curiosity about the natural world, and discover the peace and grounding that can be found by connecting to nature as part of daily life. Using photography as well as the author’s own illustrations, The Curious Nature Guide invites readers to start at home, using all of their senses to notice the colors, sounds, smells, and textures of the trees, plants, animals, birds, insects, clouds, and other features that can be observed right outside their doorstep, no matter where they live. Prompts range from suggestions to note one daily exceptional nature image to learning to identify cloud types and the weather they bring, or creating a record of nature spottings on daily walks with the dog. Storey Publishing, 144 pages, paperback.

$14.95 Now $9.72!

click here to buy from randy’s books on alibris

This is a Special LIMITED TO STOCK ON HAND Offer! We have just a couple copies in our own inventory to sell. We have two systems on different platforms. Items from our stock are on Alibris. You can buy this boo and all other Special Offer books there. You cannot combine these in a Bookshop order, the new books platform we use.

Special Offer: Play the Forest School Way

This is a Special LIMITED TO STOCK ON HAND Offer! This is one of the great titles we have listed in our Bookshop Catalog but we also have just a couple copies in our own inventory to sell. You cannot combine these in a Bookshop order but must deal directly with Randy’s Books by email. If you’d like to purchase one or more special offer just email us with your order and we’ll send you a paypal request for the amount which you can pay in any of the normal ways. Email us at randy@randysbooks.com

Play the Forest School Way: Woodland Games and Crafts for Adventurous Kids

by Peter Houghton and  Jane Worroll

Woodland games, crafts, and other outdoor adventures from the Forest School–for parents and their children. The rise of the grassroots Forest School movement in recent years is part of a groundswell of concern about the wellbeing of our children, with many media scare stories about child obesity, “nature deficit disorder” (as described in Last Child in the Woods), and lack of exposure to risk.This outdoor adventure manual is the antidote! Packed full of ideas, from making nature jewelry and whittling a bow and arrow, to building a shelter and foraging for food, it also celebrates the Forest School philosophy of encouraging self-esteem, confidence, and social skills through engagement with nature. The activities contain variations for varied age groups, small groups like play dates or birthday parties, as well as things to do with just one or two children. Parents are encouraged to guide the play but the activity instructions are written in a simple style with fun illustrations so that kids can take the lead as well. Watkins Publishing, 160 pages, paperback.

$16.95 Now $10.95 tax and shipping included!

Must be purchased by emailing us NOT by way of the regular catalog. Limited to a few copies on hand. Email us at randy@randysbooks.com. Orders accepted in the order emails are received.

The Hike

by Alison Farrell

With lyrical language that captures the majesty of the natural world coupled with fun narrative featured throughout, this spirited picture book tells the victorious story of three girls’ friendship—and their tribulations and triumphs in the great outdoors. Here is the best and worst of any hike: from picnics to puffing and panting, deer-sighting to detours. Featuring a glossary, a sketchbook by one of the characters, abundant labels throughout, and scientific backmatter, this book is a must-have for budding scientists, best friends, and all adventurers. And it proves, as if proof were needed, what epic things can happen right in your own backyard.

Hardcover, 56 pages. /// $17.98. /// Randy’s Price on Bookshop $16.54

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Birder on Berry Lane: Three Acres, Twelve Months, Thousands of Birds

by Robert Tougias

The author’s house on Berry Lane may look like a typical Connecticut suburban home, but as his fascinating year-long account reveals, its three-acre backyard is teeming with nature’s mysteries. Acutely sensitive to the activities of birds, Tougias notes which species are present, which are breeding, and where their nests are. He identifies each species by its song, and brings us on a journey of appreciation as we learn the wonders of bird migration, the sensitive interaction of birds with their habitat, and the hidden meaning of their call notes and songs.Intimate and acutely observed writing reveals the miracles of the ordinary in the subtle changes, season to season, of the ecosystem of the woods, streams, and meadow that make up the sprawling backyard on Berry Lane. We are led to consider, too, the dangers posed by the climate crisis and unthinking human development. The quietly powerful writing tunes our senses to the change of the seasons, the return of warblers in spring, geese flying south in the fall–all happening on time as they have for eons.Beautifully illustrated with twenty-five line drawings, Birder on Berry Lane is a book of sublime simplicity that teaches an appreciation for what we commonly overlook.

Hardcover, 224 pages. /// $19.98. /// Randy’s Price on Bookshop $18.38

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Nests, Eggs, Birds: An Illustrated Aviary

by Kelsey Oseid

Discover the world’s birds, their homes, and their eggs in this gorgeously illustrated, entertaining, and educational guide.Did you know that the tailorbird “sews” leaves together to make its nest? Or that hummingbird eggs are the size of jellybeans?Birds are some of the world’s most beautiful and interesting creatures, and their nests and eggs are no exception, displaying a stunning diversity of shapes, sizes, functions, and materials. In Nests, Eggs, Birds, celebrated artist and author Kelsey Oseid explores the fascinating ins and outs of where and how dozens of avian species–robins, birds of paradise, crows, owls, penguins, and more–make their homes and lay their eggs.Full of striking naturalistic art and fun scientific facts, Nests, Eggs, Birds will delight bird lovers of all ages.

Hardcover, 144 pages. /// $16.98. /// Randy’s Price on Bookshop $15.62

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Botany in a Day Classes

I’ve always had intentions of studying one of my favorite books, Botany In A Day by Thomas J. Elpel. Alone, this is a fantastic book, but there’s an annual online course you can take that uses it. The class is available for a donation… in fact I think you can take it without one, but if the class is anything like the book, you’ll want to help them out. Either way, check the course out at Botany Everyday Online Classes. Look over to the right of the page and watch for this year’s class to begin March 21.

If you don’t already have the book, do us a favor and buy it HERE. The link will take you to a new affiliate sales site that we’re in the process of setting up to replace our online catalog. Let us know what you think.