Tales From the Forest

Tales from the Forest is a collection of 20 brand-new nature stories, five for each season of the year. In Spring, caterpillars transform, adders shed their skin and woodpeckers lay their eggs. In Summer, bees collect pollen, fireflies flit and tadpoles grow legs. In Autumn, moles burrow, ladybirds huddle and fawn grows antlers. And in Winter, spider spins a pod, wolf migrates, and squirrel finds her stash. At the end of it all, owl sings a song of the forest, reminding us of all the creatures we've met and how busy the forest is.

A weighty hardback with thick, quality, full-colour pages throughout, Tales from the Forest is built to last. It will be really useful for KS1 teachers covering the Seasons topic, especially as each story of 3-5 pages is the perfect length for a few minutes' quiet time at the end of the day. A wealth of detailed factual information on how each animal lives is buried within the stories, and each ends with a short rhyming verse summarising the key theme of the story. As well as the expected stories, squirrels, rabbits and the like, we also meet a host of more unusual animals such as boar, bats and beavers.

I did have some reservations that the stories shy away from the true nature of the forest ecosystem (only bugs and worms get eaten, never anything cute and fluffy), and there is a slight overreliance on exclamation marks. However, Tales from the Forest is a valuable addition to the KS1 bookshelf or library with lots to offer read as a whole or as individual stories.

128 pages / Ages 5+ / Reviewed by Carol Carter, school librarian

Suggested Reading Age 5+