For the parents - a great book for you and your kids

[LittleLebowski]

Audobon Society Guide to North American Mammals (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679446311/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0679446311&linkCode=as2&tag=ratio07-20). I love reading this to my daughter. She's entranced by the pictures, I can give her the full names and descriptions or just shorten the words to what she can pronounce. Her visual ID is being built for hunting and her vocabulary is growing plus I don't have to read a children's book every night. Highly recommended.

[Savage Hands]

I'll check it out, thanks.

[LHS]

Another great book, and equally so for girls despite the title:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0062208977/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1377558082&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX110_SY165

[EMC]

Good thread. My kids always want to read the same books each night, having some new options is always good.

[pangloss]

Audobon Society Guide to North American Mammals (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679446311/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0679446311&linkCode=as2&tag=ratio07-20). I love reading this to my daughter. She's entranced by the pictures, I can give her the full names and descriptions or just shorten the words to what she can pronounce. Her visual ID is being built for hunting and her vocabulary is growing plus I don't have to read a children's book every night. Highly recommended.

That's a fantastic idea! I have a toddler who loves to look at pictures. This week I realized that Google Images are great for looking at elephants and giraffes and collie dogs. Unfortunately, it's about impossible to get to the end of the elephant pictures on Google.

[tremiles]

I basically grew up in my parents converted spare bedroom/library reading the Time/Life catalog of books. My dad used to quiz me on them for fun. That and the 4' * 8' framed maps we had of the U.S. and the Earth. When they packed it in for Florida, I bagged and boxed them all up for my future children.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 4

[VolGrad]

My child has been addicted to Nat Geo books, Guiness Books of World Records, Almanacs of all sorts of things, etc. for a long time. She's 9yo now and is a freakin' genius. She learns so much out of these types of books and doesn't even realize it. Don't get me wrong she reads non-fiction & mystery stuff non-stop as well. However, she prefers non-fiction factoid type books.

One time we were at the local B&N and she had some 4 in her pocket from chores and was trying to choose a book. She ended up with a hardback book on explorers. Seriously. She chose history over Nancy Drew.

[JAD]

Audobon Society Guide to North American Mammals (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679446311/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0679446311&linkCode=as2&tag=ratio07-20). I love reading this to my daughter. She's entranced by the pictures, I can give her the full names and descriptions or just shorten the words to what she can pronounce. Her visual ID is being built for hunting and her vocabulary is growing plus I don't have to read a children's book every night. Highly recommended.
-- Bought on your rec. for my almostthreeyearold. The screensaver on apple TV is animal pictures and he will sit and call 'em for half an hour.

[LittleLebowski]

Last night's reading time was much more enjoyable but for right now, squirrels and chipmunks are just "squirrels" as martens and weasels are just "weasels" :D

[MDS]

My 3.5yo loves to "teach" my 2yo from our three guide books - especially the one with the bugs. They're only into it when we're hiking or camping, though. On a recent hike, the oldest recognized a raspberry patch and they picked it clean. But it's mostly over their heads - maybe they'd get more out of something designed for kids...

[JeffJ]

I'm going to check this out. Right now, if it's furry and has a tail it's an arf-arf -- Informing the kiddo that something might be a cat or cow is met with a look of contempt/shame/sadness that his Dad is such a freaking idiot that he doesn't even know what a dog looks like.

[LittleLebowski]

What I like about these books is that they have great pictures and descriptions the kids can grow into.

[LittleLebowski]

My 3.5yo loves to "teach" my 2yo from our three guide books - especially the one with the bugs. They're only into it when we're hiking or camping, though. On a recent hike, the oldest recognized a raspberry patch and they picked it clean. But it's mostly over their heads - maybe they'd get more out of something designed for kids...

To clarify, the book I linked to is NOT designed for kids. Hope your family is enjoying the new surroundings!

[MDS]

To clarify, the book I linked to is NOT designed for kids. Hope your family is enjoying the new surroundings!

Understood - I just see some of those NatGeo "for kids" books and wonder. I'll probably keep feeding the boys the grown-up stuff...but I've never obsessed over anything like I obsess over these two, so I'll keep wondering...

ETA: and yeah, we're enjoying it immensely, thanks for asking. MIL is here for a few weeks so no camping and less hiking than usual. But normally we've been averaging a few hikes a week and camping every other weekend. Even better than books. :D

[LittleLebowski]

Understood - I just see some of those NatGeo "for kids" books and wonder. I'll probably keep feeding the boys the grown-up stuff...but I've never obsessed over anything like I obsess over these two, so I'll keep wondering...

ETA: and yeah, we're enjoying it immensely, thanks for asking. MIL is here for a few weeks so no camping and less hiking than usual. But normally we've been averaging a few hikes a week and camping every other weekend. Even better than books. :D

I have it on good authority that the coyotes in Douglas, Wyoming mock you from afar :D

[MDS]

I have it on good authority that the coyotes in Douglas, Wyoming mock you from afar :D

Before moving here, I'd never had so much occasion to remind myself that it's OK to forgo some epic activity in order to partake in some other epic activity. That said... when's it get too cold to shoot dogs out there, again?

ObOnTopic: my kids' favorite field guide is the "berry book" - http://www.amazon.com/Berries-Fruits-Field-Mountain-States/dp/1591932815/ref=sr_1_2

[LittleLebowski]

Never! Easier in the winter, actually :D

[MDS]

Never! Easier in the winter, actually :D

Sweet! I'm taking a long weekend from the family tomorrow, to hit some 14ers with some goruck folks, so it'll be a few weeks before I get another kitchen pass. Always wanted to see Wyoming in autumn.