Forest Magic: A Guidebook for Little Woodland Explorers

Forest Magic is a guide for young children to learn about the forest environment and what it contains. Written and illustrated by Sarah Grindler as part of her “Little Explorers” series, Forest Magic shows some of the interesting plants and animals that children can see in the forest.

The book is well-laid-out with simple text that can easily be followed by a young child. The text can be read quietly, out loud, or while looking at things in the forest. The text is very descriptive and will appeal to young readers. There is no glossary but any unfamiliar words can easily be looked up by an adult.

The information presented is kept at a good level for the target age group but presents lots of opportunity for the reader to learn. The reader is asked to think about different questions and has an opportunity to find animals in an illustration. At the end of the book are a couple of pages of things that are safe to touch in the forest and things that are not safe to touch. The not safe to touch group includes items that are delicate and should not be disturbed, such as a bird’s nest, as well as items that are toxic, like baneberry. It would be good to include a couple of lines to request children not to pick flowers, fungi or other things, whether they are toxic or not.

Forest Magic shows a wide variety of things that can be found in a forest, including popular items like trees and birds, as well as lesser-known items like lichens. The book does a great job of showing young children just how diverse the forest environment is while still keeping the text simple and at an easy reading level.

The beautiful illustrations showcase the different things you can find in a forest and can be used for basic identification of some fungi, flowers, and animals.

Forest Magic is a great introduction to the forest environment for young readers.