A treasure of nature books

Many years ago--I guess it was probably 23 - 24 years ago--when we first started home schooling, one of the first things we did was to watch and identify birds in our southern Mississippi yard. Of course we knew the common birds---cardinals, blue jays, goldfinches---all of which are easy known because they are birds of color and catch one's eye easily.

Then there were the sparrows and the wrens and how to tell their differences. Since both fell into the gray category for me, I was interested in discovering the difference. Way back in the '80s, homeschooling material, or school material in general, was not easy to find for the common, run-of-the-mill citizen like me. Abeka material, though, was available, and we enjoyed all the science books from them. I still think Abeka does the best job at introducing nature to children. Their books have great photography and their descriptive information is easy and interesting to grasp.

We added bird books to our library, too, and our still most valuable and most used bird identification book is Audubon's Field Guide for North American Birds. I even got a second copy for the car because there were too many times that I'd see a bird to identify but couldn't keep it in my memory long enough to look it up when I got home.

One of my favorite resources for nature study that I discovered in 1989 is Anna Botsford Comstock's Handbook of Nature Study. Funny, now that book costs $26 new; I believe paid under $10 for it new in 1989. Comstock's book is a valuable resource, even for $26. She writes as if she is sitting beside you talking over tea.

After my children grew out of the elementary stage, we still enjoyed nature, but I ceased to add many nature books to our library. That all changed when Mrs. Multivitamin wrote this blog post last May. When my anticipated transition to teaching in a traditional classroom after homeschooling over two decades, I thought I would begin to explore more nature book resources useful in the classroom. I'm sure Mrs. Multivitamin doesn't realize, until now, what a treasure-trove I've found in the books and CD recordings of Lang Elliott. (Thank you, Mrs. M-MV!)

My first Lang Elliott additions were Music of the Birds and Common Birds and Their Songs both of which have stunning photography of the birds.

When I realized that all Lang Elliott's books included a CD of bird songs, I added
Know Your Bird Sounds, Volume 1 and Know Your Bird Sounds, Volume 2. Then I realized Elliott also had resources for other nature sounds: spring peepers, tree crickets, the American alligator, and the American beaver in the A Guide to Wildlife Sounds, and loon, coyote, porcupine, and six different owl calls in A Guide to Night Sounds, I am hooked on collecting Elliott's books.

As crazy as it may sound, I love to listen to these CDs. If you have ever enjoyed any of those relaxation CDs about nature, you will love these. And the added bonus is that you learn something! I have even grabbed the Night Sounds CD to pop in on hour's drive. Some creative person with a bit of mischief inside could play this for a bunch of kids camping outside and scare the bejeevers out of them all in good fun.

Expand your awareness of sounds in nature with Lang Elliott's books. I don't think you will be disappointed.

[Addendum:
While preparing some fabulous I-will-post-later dinner rolls for April birthday celebrations tonight, I popped in Elliott's A Guide to Night Sounds and had the neatest remembrance. Years ago when our flock was young and it was on our public television station, we loved to watch Wild America with Marty Stouffer. The kids gleaned much of their wildlife knowledge and enthusiasm from these wonderful shows. I don't know if they are still on television, but they are available on DVD.

Lang Elliott CDs are like listening to Marty Stouffer's Wild America. My oldest son walked through and I asked him what the audio reminded him of, and without dropping the beat, he said "Marty Stouffer's Wild America" and proceeded to sing out the musical introduction to Wild America. Memories....how they enrich life!]