Maisy’s Planet – Adorable Nature Themed Books for Kids
Just in time for Earth Day, here are two nature themed books from the new Maisy’s Planet series your child is sure to love!
Maisy is a beloved character who has engaged and entertained kids for more than 30 years. From camping to preschool to museums, Maisy has had many adventures.
And now creator Lucy Cousins is launching the Maisy’s Planet series to educate kids and celebrate the natural world. These adorable books are available from Candlewick Press.
The Importance of Nature Themed Books
Books about nature can help introduce and instill a lifelong love of the planet for kids. I always say – if we want kids to grow up protecting the environment, they have to fall in love with it first.
Stories that engage a child in the natural world can spark that love. And when they find a story they connect with, they’ll want to enjoy it again and again.
Reading with your child builds intellect, empathy, imagination, and of course, their own reading skills. Books open their eyes to the world and the perspectives of other people.
The stories and pictures in Maisy books are ones your child will want to read over and over again. Repetition is worthwhile for kids because they learn to expect and predict what comes next. They also benefit from the agency and attention of “reading” the story to a parent, sibling, or friend long before they actually have the skills to read the text themselves.
Extensive studies prove that spending time in nature as a child leads to a happier and more mentally healthy adulthood. These studies are compelling enough to grab a book like the ones below and head outside with your kids to read them!
Keep in mind books don’t have to have “Earth Day” in the title to teach kids about the planet. They can feature a character who loves things like gardening, plants, animals… or just spending all day outside.
With that in mind, here’s a look at how our favorite charming mouse learns about trees and bees.
Maisy Loves Trees
Follow along as Maisy learns that trees are home to lots of animals. Your child will learn the different parts of a tree and how its leaves can tell what kind of tree it is.
They can learn along with Maisy as she observes animals make homes and find food like berries and pine cones in trees.
Maisy happily climbs to a low branch of a tree. If your child wants to imitate her, encourage it! Climbing and hanging upside down are essential for brain development, balance, and gross motor skills. And kids today are showing signs of decreased skills in these areas and an underdeveloped vestibular system.
Maisy is delightful as she learns about an interacts closely with the trees in this book. The back board of Maisy Loves Trees opens to show a variety of trees from around the world.
Whether it’s how trees grow from seeds or how they change throughout the seasons, Maisy has much to share about nature with little ones.
Maisy Loves Bees
Through Lucy Cousins’ familiar bold, inviting artwork and cheery narration, kids can join Maisy as she tends to her growing garden and discovers some exciting things about the bees that live there.
Learn how bees use their tongues to eat sweet nectar from flowers then carry dusty pollen on their bodies to spread it from flower to flower.
Bees also need plenty of flowers, water, and a dry place to live. Maisy Loves Bees illustrates everything found inside a beehive like honeycomb, larvae, worker bees and the queen.
The final section shows how Maisy is helping the amazing bees!
Because the books are hard, they are easy for little ones to hold. Plus they aren’t easily bent or torn, and they hold up well for traveling or reading outside.
The Maisy’s Planet series is perfect for little nature lovers 18 months and up. You can find these books online at Bookshop.org along with hundreds of other Maisy books.
And if you’re looking for more kid-friendly fun for Earth Day, find these printable Earth Day coloring pages, more Earth Day books, or this roundup of educational and exciting Earth Day activities.