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Top 5 books for young nature lovers, chosen by Dr Jess French

Zoologist , broadcaster and author Jess French selects five books to get children interested in the natural world.

Bella Loves Bugs and Billy Loves Birds author Jess French selects five other books to buy for the young nature-lovers in your life.

1. Mia Makes a Meadow by Rachel Lawston and Beatriz Castro

This book is brilliantly inspiring, showing children how to share their outdoor spaces with animals and other people, modelling how communities can work together to care for the natural spaces around them. 

2. In the Pond by Will Millard and Rachel Qiuqi

This gorgeous board book is a lovely introduction to pond life. With read-aloud rhyming texts to walk you through each story and a great collection of first words to see and say, this book is a great resource for early language skills.

3. The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris

With the appearance of modern words in our children’s vocabularies, we must not let the language of nature slip away. That’s the thought process behind this beautiful book, which arms young people with the lexicon to describe the natural world. 

4. Nature’s Treasures by Ben Hoare 

A curiosity cabinet in book form, Ben Hoare invites the reader to discover over 100 intriguing items from the natural world and explore the stories behind them. The perfect book for young curious minds, packed with fascinating facts.

5. One Million Insects by Isabel Thomas and Lou Baker Smith

Full of facts that will make you look at insects in a whole new light, this book will instil a love and respect for insects that will stay with younger readers for a lifetime.

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Bella Loves Bugs and Billy Loves Birds, both by Jess French and illustrated by Duncan Beedie, are out now
(Happy Yak)

You can buy Bella Loves Bugs and Billy Loves Birds from The Big Issue shop on Bookshop.org, which helps to support The Big Issue and independent bookshops.

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