A series of four
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reviewsWe are proud of being recognized by major publications. Read what they have to say about these books.
“There's a whole world of nature waiting for you, and it's closer than you think.... Read A Kid's Spring EcoJournal: With Nature Activities for Exploring the Season by Toni Albert (Trickle Creek Books)." Ranger Rick “A Kid’s Spring EcoJournal...offers March-to-May activities that encourage kids to get outdoors and then write and read about what they see. The book shows students in grades three and higher how to care for wildflowers, grow worms, help nesting birds, build a squirrel house, and collect animal tracks. Writing space and detailed illustrations accompany each activity.” School Library Journal "This series of EcoJournals -- one for each season -- has illustrated, reproducible writing pages and is packed with scientific nature activities. Short entries from the author's own nature journals invite kids to read about nature and inspire them to write about it." Learning Magazine “Author Toni Albert’s poetic descriptions of her personal experiences at her special home on Trickle Creek warmly portray her sincere love and passion for nature and all its wild wonders and creatures. Endless ideas for writing and drawing are offered in her unique book/journals [EcoJournals]. Packed with ecology related projects.” Parenting “A Kid’s Fall EcoJournal. Packed with activities that encourage kids to study the environment in their own backyards, this beautifully illustrated book is a great tool for exploring the season. Author Toni Albert has included short entries from her nature journals, and encourages readers to keep their own.” Kids: A Woman’s Day special interest publication “A Kid’s Winter EcoJournal. This little book contains short stories and over 50 do-it-yourself kid activities arranged chronologically to correspond with winter weather and holidays. All of these activities make for good old-fashioned fun. Even better, many of them...help teach children about the wildlife around them.” E: The Environmental Magazine "While [Trickle Creek Books'] whole list is dedicated to the idea that those who learn to love the Earth today will protect it tomorrow, we were particularly impressed by a series of four EcoJournals, one for each season....These books are science-based, lots of fun, exploration-oriented, not condescending, and suitable for a variety of ages, from about eight and up. Their unstructured love- for-learning approach makes them perfectly suited to life learners of all ages." Life Learning Magazine "The EcoJournals help children develop observation skills and a respect for the environment. The books present excerpts from Albert's own nature journals and space for kids to write their own entries. They also contain black-and-white illustrations, suggestions for what to write about, and tips for exploring nature." ENC: Curriculum Resources “Another teacher and I thought we could share a set of your EcoJournals. However after reading them, we both decided we each wanted a set of our own.” Sally Van Why, Bedford Elementary School, PA |
more reviewsToni Albert loves kids, but even more she loves ‘teaching kids to care for the earth.’ It radiates from each new EcoJournal. Albert’s twenty years of daily strolls through the trails of the woodlands around Trickle Creek, with nature journal in hand, were waiting to be mined for the wealth of nature activities they could provide for young readers.” Keystone Conservationist “This series of EcoJournals for each season of the year will encourage your kids to really explore and gain from going outdoors...Toni Albert’s writing is just plain enjoyable to read—she relates funny incidents with her cat watching web worms crawl around the top of an empty flower pot, or what it was like to gaze into the eyes of a box turtle, or finding with surprise that she thought the dried leaves skittering across the road were little mice and thinking, ‘I should get a bumper sticker: I brake for leaves.’” Pennsylvania Homeschoolers "A Kid's Winter EcoJournal is filled with over 50 fun nature-inspired activities for exploring the season.On the left-hand side of each page of the workbook, readers find Ms. Albert's daily journal entry. Above her entry, she provides space for your entry! And that is one of the things I like best about this guide; the author models nature journaling, rather than simply telling readers how they should do it (of course, she does that, too...very gently, in the Introduction). Now, on the right-hand side of the workbook -- that is where things get exciting! Every day Albert offers readers unique suggestions... from making a nature wreath to gathering goodies to make Woodpecker Pizza! And she even shows us how to use cabbage leaves to test for acidity in snow!" Only Small Things - Jessica Allen "Teaching kids to care for the Earth" is the credo of Albert's work and the theme of her publications. An experienced teacher, she researched nature education programs and activities at her 20-acre wooded site in Mechanicsburg. These meticulously illustrated EcoJournals are guides that will draw youngsters into experiencing their own backyards or parks. They are encouraged to conduct specific collecting and study projects and activities that will help them understand and appreciate the naural world. Highly recommended for home, neighbor-hood youth groups, and elementary school use." Pennsylvania Magazine "The EcoJournals by Toni Albert are very appealing and charming. As I browsed through A Kid's Spring EcoJournal, I found a page entitled, 'A Worm is a Sign of Spring.' Besides information on worms, there's information on building your own worm habitat in a CLEAR plastic container that is then covered with black paper. When you want to observe the worms, just pull off the dark covering. What a great idea!" California Homeschool Network “I really liked the spring book. It is one of the best. My dad is going to make a flower press for me and I am going to help him. I can’t wait to get the summer and winter ecojournals...I hope to make an owl box and have baby owls in it.” Tim W., Ronks, PA "A Kid’s Winter EcoJournal is another wonderful book to add to your child’s library. There are four books in the series, one for each season. Toni Albert delivered yet again with this book. It’s set up by date starting December 1st and going until February 28th.... Each section has a journal area for your child to write in. This is a book I plan to keep in my daughter's file of school. She loved coloring in the birds on the edges of each page. The detailed art is wonderful. We have had so much fun that I’m already planning on buying the other three books in the series so we can continue our EcoJournal adventures." Erin Amundsen on her blog, A Review and Giveaway - areviewandgiveaway.com |
inside the ecojournals
There are four EcoJournals, one for each season: A Kid's Spring EcoJournal, A Kid's Summer EcoJournal, A Kid's Fall EcoJournal, and A Kid's Winter EcoJournal. They are written by Toni Albert, illustrated by Margaret Brandt.
Each book is packed with activities. Kids can:
Excerpt from A Kid's Spring EcoJournal:
“During the winter, little white-bellied deer mice invade the machines that are not being used—the rototiller, the lawn tractor, and the log splitter...It has become an annual event for us to catch some mice in the spring and keep them for a few weeks in a terrarium. It gives us a wonderful chance to observe them.
Once we caught a mother with two tiny, bald babies with their eyes still closed. We called her Dear-Deer Mouse and watched her raise her family. She built a messy nest out of dried grass and shredded tissue in a small hollow branch that we gave her. She ate seeds and bran cereal and apple slices. Her babies opened shiny black eyes and grew gray velvet fur. One of them spent three days eating a strawberry that was bigger than it was. (That was Strawberry ShortMouse.)
As soon as the little mice are grown, we release them outside. Even though we can’t resist giving them names, we know they are not pets. They are little wild animals that are not meant to live in a terrarium. They have things to do in the world and mouse lives to live."
Each book is packed with activities. Kids can:
- make a mushroom spore print
- dissect an owl pellet
- collect a spider web
- raise tadpoles or caterpillars
- collect insect galls and raise the larvae
- build an eco-pond
- make woodpecker pizza and bird biscuits
- press wildflowers, grasses, and leaves
- make a snowman for birds
- build a track trap
- attract moths with a "shining sheet"
- make a collector's caddy
- build a squirrel house
- plant a bog garden, a butterfly garden, or a moonlight garden
Excerpt from A Kid's Spring EcoJournal:
“During the winter, little white-bellied deer mice invade the machines that are not being used—the rototiller, the lawn tractor, and the log splitter...It has become an annual event for us to catch some mice in the spring and keep them for a few weeks in a terrarium. It gives us a wonderful chance to observe them.
Once we caught a mother with two tiny, bald babies with their eyes still closed. We called her Dear-Deer Mouse and watched her raise her family. She built a messy nest out of dried grass and shredded tissue in a small hollow branch that we gave her. She ate seeds and bran cereal and apple slices. Her babies opened shiny black eyes and grew gray velvet fur. One of them spent three days eating a strawberry that was bigger than it was. (That was Strawberry ShortMouse.)
As soon as the little mice are grown, we release them outside. Even though we can’t resist giving them names, we know they are not pets. They are little wild animals that are not meant to live in a terrarium. They have things to do in the world and mouse lives to live."
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