Catherine Ripley

This was one of my favourite books when I was a young child (it was also a favourite of my mother, who read it with me). It illustrates the lives of various animals in a small woodland, meadow, and pond during the day and night. I'm guessing that it is set in eastern North America, but most of the animals portrayed are similar to ones found throughout temperate regions in the northern hemisphere. The illustrations are bright and colourful, and contain many animals to look for (some are obvious, while others are hidden; my favourites are the spring peepers by the pond and the hare's many paths in the forest). The author and illustrators do not anthropomorphize the animals, but show them in their natural environments performing their natural activities. They also do not shy away from presenting realistic predator-prey interactions (although they do not show predators actually catching and consuming their prey!). This would be a nice book to introduce children to wildlife, or simply to help cultivate a love for nature.… (altro)