Bird, Bee and Bug Houses: Homes and Habitats for Garden Wildlife

By Author / Illustrator

Esther Coombs, Susie Behar

Genre

Environment & Nature

Age range(s)

Publisher

Button Books

ISBN

9781787081444

Format

Hardback

Published

11-06-2024

Synopsis

Bird, Bee and Bug Houses shows children how to support garden wildlife by making sustainable bird, bee and bug houses, as well as how to create habitats through small, achievable projects.

Perfect for young naturalists, this beautifully illustrated, accessible book is packed with practical activities and information about the wildlife found in our gardens and beyond. The content is designed to inspire curiosity and encourage children to have a go and do their bit in supporting and protecting creatures both big and small.
From building nest boxes and beetle banks to bee homes and butterfly feeders, children will also learn why supporting our backyard creatures is so important to the success of local ecosystems and the biodiversity of the world. Each project includes easy-to-follow illustrated step-by-step instructions along with detailed material and tool lists.

Activities include: Mini Wildlife Garden, Bug Hotel, Beetle Bank, Bat House, Nest Boxes, Bird and Butterfly Feeders and more.

Extract from Bird, Bee and Bug Houses illustrated by Esther Coombs, written by Susie Behar, Button Books

Download Extract

Reviews

Bird, Bee and Bug Houses is a beautifully crafted nature book, packed full of information, ideas and instructions on activities to help young readers learn about and create their own bird, bee and bug houses and contribute to supporting and conserving the natural habitats and environments of many species around us.

Stunning, brightly coloured illustrations, drawings and diagrams are enchanting and engage the reader visually. They bring each species to life initially then focus in on detailing the 'how to...' sections of the book, helping the reader know how to build bee, bird and bat home and make mini ponds or meadows (the last activity being my personal favourite)

Alongside clearly listed steps, displayed artistically on the pages, the book moves from a wide focus look at each species to a close up look at what we can do to create supporting environments for them; a sort of zoom out, zoom in narrative sequence, which works really well to engage the reader.

The projects are all achievable (even the wooden built nests) and some require minimal planning ahead and use very common garden resources that could be scaled up or down, depending on the size of the outdoor area you have.

Button books constantly produce modern looking non- fiction that creates curiosity and sparks the imagination of its young readers. This book has a gentle charm to it that complements the subject matter entirely.

56 pages / Reviewed by Jennifer Caddick, teacher