Book Review (and Giveaway): It's a Jungle Out There

The Conscious Shopper preps for summer vacation...

Last Monday, my husband arrived home from work and headed into the kitchen to grab his dinner, but he was distracted by a gloopy white puddle that was taking over one end of the table. He bent down to get a closer look. "What is...Is that glue?"

I replied, "Today was not our best day."

Yes, folks, summer vacation has arrived at the Conscious Shopper home, along with a whole lot of squabbling, mess-making, and complaining. If I hear "I'm bored" one more time...

Luckily, my summer began with the arrival of a new book about nature exploration: It's a Jungle Out There!: 52 Nature Adventures for City Kids by Jennifer Ward. We are now well-equipped with ideas for spending time outside (since I typically counter the complaint "I'm bored" with the command to "Go outside!").

Jennifer Ward, the author of I Love Dirt! and Let's Go Outside!, spent most of her life surrounded by nature. When she moved to a city, at first she felt starved for nature, but then she realized that the natural world was still thriving all around her if she took the time to look for it. Her experience led her to write her latest book, It's a Jungle Out There!: 52 Nature Adventures for City Kids.

I've written a couple times about my own attempts to introduce my city kids to the natural world, so y'all know this book is perfect for me. Most of the ideas are pretty simple and common-sense, but it's nice to have a compact reminder of many of the fun things kids can do to explore nature in an urban setting. I also really liked that this book is organized by season, and the 52 activities could easily translate into once a week planned nature outings.

For more ways to fill up your summer vacation with outdoor adventures, check out these resources:

• The Green Hour by Todd Christopher
• The National Wildlife Federation's Be Out There website
• Go Explore Nature blog to see how one family is putting the green hour idea into action
  
• Let the Children Play blog - a play-focused preschool provides inspiration that can be translated to the home setting
• Info from the National Wildlife Federation about how to turn your backyard into a certified wildlife habitat

And now for a giveaway!

I've jotted down a few ideas from It's a Jungle Out There! and am now ready to pass it and my copy of The Green Hour along to another reader. If you would like to win this book bundle, simply leave a comment telling one thing you like to do outdoors (along with a way to contact you if you win). I will randomly select one lucky commenter and will reveal the winner next week.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED!

The winner is Carol N Wong who commented, "I love to go to a park and hike and even better go on a guided tour through a park."

(Fine print: These books are kid-centric, but you do not need to have kids to enter. You do, however, need to live in the U.S.A. Shambhala Publications sent me a free copy of It's a Jungle Out There! so I could write this review, but I was under no obligation to say anything positive and I received no other compensation.)