Category: Nature and The Natural World

Rag And Bone by Lisa Woollett 

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The Blurb On The Back:

From relics of Georgian empire-building and slave-trading, through Victorian London’s barged-out refuse to 1980s fly-tipping and the pervasiveness of present-day plastics, Rag and Bone traces the story of our rubbish, and, through it, our history of consumption.

In a series of beachcombing and mudlarking walks – beginning in the Thames in central London, then out to the Kentish estuary and eventually the sea around Cornwall – Lisa Woollett also tells the story of her family, a number of whom made their living from London’s waste, and who made a similar journey downriver from the centre of the city to the sea.

A beautifully written but urgent mixture of social history, family memoir and nature writing, Rag and Bone is a book about what we can learn from what we’ve thrown away – and a call to think more about what we leave behind. 

You can order RAG AND BONE: A FAMILY HISTORY OF WHAT WE’VE THROWN AWAY by Lisa Woollett from Amazon UK, Waterstone’s or Bookshop.org UK.  I earn commission on any purchases made through these links.

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How Can I Help? Roly The Hedgehog by Frances Rodgers and Ben Grisdale

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The Blurb On The Back:

Everything you need to know about helping your favourite garden guests!

Roly is a curious, prickly hedgehog who loves to explore gardens, including yours.  But gardens can be dangerous, from deep ponds to smelly rubbish, so Roly must be careful.  He can’t face these challenges alone – he needs your help!

Part of a beautiful series, Roly The Hedgehog provides its little readers with all the tips and tricks they need to help keep these adorable spiny creatures safe in the garden. 

HOW CAN I HELP?  ROLY THE HEDGEHOG was released in the United Kingdom on 28th October 2021.  Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

You can order How Can I Help? Roly The Hedgehog by Frances Rodgers and Ben Grisdale from Amazon UK, Waterstone’s or Bookshop.org UK.  I earn commission on any purchases made through these links.

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Nature Needs You! by Liz Gogerly and Sr. Sanchez

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The Blurb On The Back:

Four friends are outside having fun when they discover an injured fox.  After taking it to an animal rescue centre, they decide to find out more about the amazing animals, plants and places that make up our natural world.

Through talking to teachers and local conservationists, the children learn about ecosystems and biodiversity, climate change and pollution.  Seeing how all of nature is connected encourages them to discover different ways to help protect it.  Full of fascinating facts and fun activities, this book reveals why nature really does need you! 

You can order NATURE NEEDS YOU! by Liz Gogerly and Sr Sanchez from Amazon UK, Waterstone’s or Bookshop.org UK.  I earn commission on any purchases made through these links.

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Up In The Air: Butterflies, Birds And Everything Up Above by Zoë Armstrong and Sara Ugolotti

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The Blurb On The Back:

From treetop creatures to the patterns of stars in the night sky, there’s lots to discover if you just look up …

Keep your eyes and ears open for buzzing insects, swooping bats, and ingenious plants, all with a story behind them.  The sky stretching upwards is full of enchanting colours, hidden wind currents, and the wonders of space.

You can pre-order UP IN THE AIR: BUTTERFLIES, BIRDS, AND EVERYTHING UP ABOVE by Zoë Armstrong and Sara Ugolotti from Amazon UK, Waterstone’s or Bookshop.org UK.  I earn commission on any purchases made through these links.

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Genesis: On The Deep Origin Of Societies by Edward O Wilson

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The Blurb On The Back:

Of all species that have ever existed on earth, only one has reached human levels of intelligence and social organisation: us.  Why?  In Genesis, celebrated biologist Edward O. Wilson traces the great transitions of evolution, from the origin of life to the invention of sexual reproduction to the development of language itself. 

The only way for us to fully understand human behaviour, Wilson argues, is to study the evolutionary histories of nonhuman species.  Of these, he demonstrates that at least seventeen – from the African naked mole rate and the sponge-dwelling shrimp to one of the oldest species on earth, the termite – have been found to have advanced societies based on altruism, cooperation and the division of labour.

Whether writing about midges who dance about like acrobats, schools of anchovies who protectively huddle to appear like a gigantic fish or well-organised flocks becoming potentially immortal, Genesis is a pathbreaking work of evolutionary theory filled with lyrical observations.  It will make us rethink how we became who we are. 

You can buy GENESIS: ON THE DEEP ORIGIN OF SOCIETIES by Edward O. Wilson from Amazon UK, Waterstone’s or Bookshop.org UK.  I earn commission on any purchases made through these links.

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Dogs: A Philosophical Guide To Our Best Friends by Mark Alizart

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The Blurb On The Back:

Man’s best friend, domesticated since pre-historic times, a travelling companion for explorers and artists, thinkers and walkers, equally happy curled up by the fire and bounding through the great outdoors: dogs matter to us because we love them.  But is that all there is to the canine’s good-natured voracity and affectionate dependency?

Mark Alizart dispenses with the well-worn cliches concerning dogs and their masters, seeing them not as submissive pets but rather as unexpected life coaches, ready to teach us the elusive recipes for contentment and joy.  Dogs have faced their fate in life with a certain detachment that is not easy to understand.  Unlike other animals in a similar situation, they have not become hardened, nor have they let themselves die a little inside.  On the contrary, they seem to have softened.  This book is devoted to understanding this miracle, the miracle of the joy of dogs – to understanding it and, if at all possible, learning how it’s done.

Weaving elegantly and eruditely between historical myth and pop-culture anecdote, between the peculiar views of philosophers and the even more bizarre findings of science, Alizart offers us a surprising new portrait of the dog as thinker – a thinker who may perhaps know the true secret of our humanity. 

You can order Dogs: A Philosophical Guide To Our Best Friends by Mark Alizart from Amazon UK, Waterstone’s or Bookshop.org UK.  I earn commission on any purchases made through these links.

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