{"id":199068,"date":"2025-02-03T16:49:00","date_gmt":"2025-02-04T00:49:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/?p=199068"},"modified":"2025-02-03T16:50:42","modified_gmt":"2025-02-04T00:50:42","slug":"best-outdoor-kids-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/social\/best-outdoor-kids-books","title":{"rendered":"3 Must-Read Children’s Books"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In this latest selection of books, David Henkes, the REI Co-op buyer for books, was particularly excited to talk about children\u2019s books. “I’ve made it a point to focus on children’s titles, whether it’s the board books, activity books, or these picture books, because children are the next members,\u201d Henkes says. \u201cI don’t want to ignore them. They\u2019re out there being as curious in the world as we are.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Young readers are invited to explore the wonders of the world around them\u2014through diverse languages, nature’s cycles, and the bravery of firefighters. Each kids’ story book<\/a> not only tells a captivating story but also encourages curiosity and understanding. With vibrant illustrations and thoughtfully crafted narratives, these titles are perfect for sparking imaginations and deepening young minds’ appreciation for both the natural world and the people who protect it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’ve been an artist all of my life,\u201d says Henkes, \u201csince I was a child in the house, sitting on the floor with the sketch pad and a pencil.\u201d And he still is an artist. \u201cThat\u2019s my balance away from work, aside from being outside.\u201d So he takes a particular interest in children\u2019s books and the care with which they\u2019re illustrated\u2014such as the ones he\u2019s included here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Shop All Kids’ Story Books<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A is For Bee: An Alphabet Book in Translation<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

by Elle<\/strong>n Heck (Chronicle Books) $17.95. <\/strong> <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The arresting scratchboard illustrations by Ellen Heck in\u00a0A is for Bee\u00a0<\/em>kept him turning the pages. So did the book\u2019s clever conceit: \u201cIt’s an alphabet book in translation,\u201d he says. Each page features a different letter of the alphabet\u2014B is for Bee, for instance, and the words are accompanied by an illustration of a bumblebee. But in many languages the word for bee starts with \u201cA\u201d: bee is Anu in Igbo. Ari in Azerbiajani. Aamoo in Ojibwe. \u201cSo I just thought that was a really great way to introduce adults and, and especially children, to a different sort of thinking\u201d about how cultures differ even as they are similar, he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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They Hold the Line: Wildfires, Wildlands, and the Firefighters Who Brave Them<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

by Dan Paley; illustrated by Molly Mendoza (Chronicle Books) $18.95. \u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wildfires are now a part of our summers, and also our conversations. Children naturally have questions about them: What are those men and women doing, when they\u2019re living in fire towers. Why are they jumping out of planes above a fire. Why are they digging in the woods with tools in front of a fire? It\u2019s a smart time for publication of They Hold the Line, <\/em>a \u201cvisually stunning book,\u201d says Henkes. \u201cIt\u2019s told in a sort of graphic novel\/comic book style,\u201d he says. The book talks about the different sort of gear, training and people who are on the front lines when the forest fires break out. It\u2019s also packed with sidebars and little historical tidbits. He didn\u2019t consider it a frightening book. Instead, \u201cIt\u2019s a very educational book. It\u2019s meant to inform and hopefully inspire,\u201d says Henkes. And the watercolor imagery is really fantastic, he says\u2014\u201cvery bright oranges and reds and yellows for the fire.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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One Day This Tree Will Fall<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

by <\/strong>Leslie Barnard Booth<\/strong>; illustrated by <\/strong>Stephanie Fizer Coleman<\/strong> (Margaret K. McElderry Books). $18.95<\/strong> <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Children are hungry to learn about their world\u2014often hungrier than jaded adults are. After all, everything is new to them. To a child, a tree is practically magic\u2014how it appears, grows, falls. But when a tree dies, is its story over? This book, for children ages 4 to 8, tells about the lives that a tree has\u2014where a seed comes from (borne on the wind or dropped by a bird, for instance); how a tree grows and what it needs to flourish; what kind of birds and bugs can life on its branches or in its crevices. \u201cAnd then the book goes into what happens when this tree falls in the forest, and it talks about how it still has a life for the animals, for the ground as it decomposes over time,\u201d says Henkes. Its nutrients return to the ground and it can become a nurse log that fosters a next generation of saplings. The words are accompanied by big, full watercolor illustrations.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In this latest selection of books, David Henkes, the REI Co-op buyer for books, was particularly excited to talk about children\u2019s books. “I’ve made it a point to focus on children’s titles, whether it’s the board books, activity books, or these picture books, because children are the next members,\u201d Henkes says. \u201cI don’t want to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9145,"featured_media":199163,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[242],"tags":[739,727,1423],"internal-tag":[],"class_list":["post-199068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-social","tag-books","tag-latest-posts","tag-staff-picks"],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/rei.com\/blog\/social\/best-outdoor-kids-books","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"3 Must-Read Children’s Books","url":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/social\/best-outdoor-kids-books","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/social\/best-outdoor-kids-books"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/Screenshot-2025-02-03-at-4.46.03\u202fPM.png?resize=150%2C150","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/www.rei.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/01\/Screenshot-2025-02-03-at-4.46.03\u202fPM.png?fit=2156%2C932"},"articleSection":"Social","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Phuong Le"}],"creator":["Phuong Le"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Uncommon Path \u2013 An REI Co-op Publication","logo":""},"keywords":["books","latest posts","staff picks"],"dateCreated":"2025-02-04T00:49:00Z","datePublished":"2025-02-04T00:49:00Z","dateModified":"2025-02-04T00:50:42Z"},"rendered":"