Wonderful Adventure & Nature Reads for the New Year
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Secret Garden is a fantastic book to have at your fingertips. It’s a wonderful read any time, although in January, as we venture into a new year, it’s especially enchanting and inspiring, igniting a sense of wonder as we look forward to spring when the magic of nature materialises and blooms into vibrant life. It’s also a reminder that in the colder and darker months the natural world is alive and thriving, perhaps in less conspicuous ways, but that it’s there.
'Rewild Yourself by Simon Barnes
This wonderful book is both an introduction and a reintroduction to the natural world around us. Inspiring us to explore, delve and notice the abundance of nature surrounding us. It’s about being outdoors in all weathers and times, noticing the unexpected and finding magic in the every day. It’s a great book to start the year with and return to throughout, and it’s great book for everybody, Barnes tailors his advice to our capabilities, with gentle encouragement to push our boundaries as we go.
The Light in the Dark by Horatio Clare
Both melancholy and beautiful The Light In the Dark is Horatio Clare’s ode to winter. He writes with honest sensitivity about the darker, colder months, how it’s harder to discover and hold onto joy during January’s shorter days, especially after the festivities of Christmas. It’s a book to bring solace to those of us who perhaps struggle with our emotions during this time, written with care and lyricism and an encouragement to shift our gaze outwards.
Our garden birds by Matt Sewell
Matt Sewell’s beautiful and fun illustrations and ditties are the perfect introduction to bird spotting in your garden and local park. One of the things I’ve particularly enjoyed is noting the date and place at the top of the page when I’ve spotted a bird. It brings a new joy being able to recognise different little birds’ habits, and spotting and watching a bird you may have not noticed before!
