Wild child : coming home to nature / Patrick Barkham.

Includes bibliographical references.

The author of this inspirational memoir is a natural history writer for the Guardian and an outdoor preschool parent volunteer. He reflects on the importance of time outside for the development of compassionate, grounded, responsible, and happy children. (Miller Library Staff)

From climbing trees and making dens, to building sandcastles and pond-dipping, many of the activities we associate with a happy childhood take place outdoors. And yet, the reality for many contemporary children is very different. The studies tell us that we are raising a generation who are so alienated from nature that they can't identify the commonest birds or plants, they don't know where their food comes from, they are shuttled between home, school and the shops and spend very little time in green spaces, let alone roaming free. In this timely and personal book, celebrated nature writer Patrick Barkham draws on his own experience as a parent and a forest school volunteer to explore the relationship between children and nature. Unfolding over the course of a year of snowsuits, muddy wellies, and sunhats, Wild Child is both an intimate story of children finding their place in natural world, and a celebration of the delight we can all find in even modest patches of green.

Recommended for parents and teachers.