Time to check out an amazing new middle grade book, Can You Hear the Trees Talking?: Discovering the Hidden Life of the Forest by Peter Wohlleben.
Peter Wohlleben is the well-known author of the bestselling popular science book for adults, The Hidden Life of Trees. Now he’s applied his eye-opening approach to understanding trees in this book for young readers. He asks kid-friendly questions, such as “How do trees drink?” and answers them using current scientific knowledge and appropriate vocabulary. Even if you already know a lot about trees, be prepared to say, “Wow!”
Each question is answered on a two-page spread with gorgeous color photographs. Many of the spreads have activity suggestions, labelled “Try This!” I counted 18 hands-on activities. There are also many sidebars with extra cool facts and some quick quizzes to reinforce learning.
Let’s look at one example. Wohlleben asks, “What do tree children learn at school?” Wait, trees go to school? What is that about? Turns out that in mature forests young saplings spend a lot of time being nourished and shaped by their mother tree and other mature trees nearby. Isn’t that a cool idea?
Can You Hear the Trees Talking? is a must-have resource for educators and young botanists interested in trees. You could spend months with it. Check out a copy today!
Be sure to stop by Growing With Science blog for activity suggestions to extend learning.
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