A Field Guide to Autumn Play and Learn in Nature

Gabby Dawnay, Dorien Brouwers, Louise Black

A pocket-sized introduction to the wonders of autumn that combines hands-on activities, facts about flora and fauna, and poetry to read in the wild.

A Field Guide to Autumn is a pocket-sized introduction to autumn. Building on children’s natural curiosity about the world around them, this book aims to establish a connection with nature at an early age that will go on to last a lifetime!

Go berry picking, make art out of fallen leaves, identify mushrooms, and build a woodland den. Discover why the weather changes in autumn and how animals prepare for winter.

This book features lyrical poems, hands-on crafts and activities, scientific facts, and identifier pages to help children spot different spiders, leaves, and fungi. Whether a child’s access to nature is in the form of an urban park, a private garden, a field, or a forest, there is so much to discover and experience.

Reviews

A lovely series of field guides that encourage an appreciation for and reverence of nature while including valuable information and fun activities for kids. Dawnay presents two interactive volumes filled with poetry, sidebars, prompts, and infographics that will inspire kids to use all of their senses to explore the many factors that make each season special… The painterly illustrations truly set these titles apart. Brouwers uses vivid colors to depict the awe-inducing markers of each season.

— School Library Journal

Brouwers' watercolor-esque artwork employs a warm palette of oranges, greens, and browns that realistically depict the elements of Dawnay's text … The art on the project pages carefully shows each step … Inspired by the Forest School movement, this should be useful in primary classrooms that emphasize outdoor education.

— Booklist

Contributors

Gabby Dawnay

Author

Gabby Dawnay is a writer and poet. She is the author of over twenty books for children, including the bestselling If I Had a … series. She is a regular contributor to OKIDO magazine and a scriptwriter for children's television.

Dorien Brouwers

Illustrated By

Dorien Brouwers is an award-winning illustrator and author from the Netherlands. Based in the United Kingdom, she won the Cross-Category Award in the 2022 AOI World Illustration Awards, a gold in the Moonbeam Children's Book Awards, and was shortlisted for the Bologna Children's Book Fair 55th Illustrator's Exhibition.

Louise Black

Contributions By

Louise Black is a deputy headteacher who holds her Level 3 Forest School Leader qualification. She is passionate about the outdoors and runs regular Forest School sessions and supports providing outdoor learning for all children.