Island Parent Magazine April-May 2022

KIDS’READS
Tourist in Your Own Town
When you grow up in a city, or if you’ve lived there
for a while, it can be easy to forget about all of
the exciting things people want to come and see.
After all, the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea is always there.
You could go almost any day of the week (just don’t pick
Wednesday). Or you might drive passed the Hatley Park
Gardens every day during your commute, so they no longer
seem so spectacular. But this summer, why not try to rekindle
the excitement we feel for our own towns and become tourists
in our own backyards, so to speak. I can even suggest
some books that will teach you about the animals around us
and give some suggestions on how you can remember and
treasure the little adventures you go on.
Let’s start with The Collectors by Alice Feagan (Kids Can
Press, 2021). Winslow and Rosie love to collect natural
wonders and display them in their tree house on the edge of
the forest. Each item has a story that is carefully catalogued
by Rosie in her field journal. But now, their treehouse is so
full they only have one spot left. Rosie and Winslow set out
to try and find something amazing to go there. While you’re
learning about the items they collect, maybe you’ll get some
ideas about items you can collect as well. For ages 4 to 8.
Maybe while you’re exploring you can convince your child
to use their ears to see if they can hear any bees buzzing or
birds singing. And then, you can read Sounds All Around:
The Science of How Sound Works by Susan Hughes and illustrated
by Ellen Rooney (Kids Can Press, 2021) to talk
about how we hear sounds and how animals hear sounds.
For example, did you know elephants hear through their
feet? For ages 6 to 12.
If your children love the water and want to learn about
some of the sea creatures that live in the area, there are several
books by local authors that can help. Dive into Colours
by Ann Donahue is a great first book about sea creatures for
children ages 3 to 5 and her second book Reef Creatures:
Weird and Wonderful has almost every possible answer to
every question your 6- to 12-year-olds can think about for
sea creatures that call reefs their home.
And if your intrepid reader is concerned about the lack of
orca information in Donahue’s books, there is always Orca’s
Everywhere: The Mystery and History of Killer Whales by
local author Mark Leiren-Young (Orca Publishing, 2019),
which is full of information for preteens. For ages 10 to 14.
If you’re not exactly sure what sorts of information you
should record on your walk through the lagoon or along
one of the other beaches around here, Beach Walk which
was edited by Deanna F. Cook and Lisa H. Hiley (Storey
Publishing, 2019) has you covered. The book comes with a
magnifying glass, stickers, information about different sea
creatures and plants and a beach log to record your findings.
Let this book help you kindle your child’s inner explorer and
28 Island Parent Magazine IslandParent.ca