Wishlist for a Young Biomimicrist

Books, magnifying glass, journal and pencils. Here are some ideas to inspire a love for inventions and nature.

Robert Macfarlane The Lost Words is a beautiful large-format children’s book with stunning illustrations by Jackie Morris. Go here to read a review.

Feathers: Not Just for Flying by Melissa Stewart is a perfect introduction to feathers. Feathers can provide protection for a bird’s skin like sunscreen, attract attention like  shimmering jewelry or distract predators. A wonderful book to spark new ideas and to sharpen young chidden’s observations skills. The book introduces
sixteen birds, from the sleek emperor penguin to the fluffed-up blue jay.

Discover the amazing wildlife you can find in your own garden with RSPB Wildlife in Your Garden. Learn about birds that you may find in your backgarden, animals, plants and bugs. Friendly robins, shy hedgehogs and stunning butterflies.

My Crazy Inventions Sketchbook: 50 Awesome Drawing Activities for Young Inventors

Go here to read a review of this book that is a deligthful creative challenge that will sharpen young biomimcrists minds.

Botanicum (Welcome To The Museum) offers a think dive into the plant kingdom in all its glory. Stunning  illustrations that you can study for hours. The companion activity book, Botanicum Activity Book (Welcome To The Museum) is bursting with facts and puzzles. An activity book that challenges young biomimicrists to discover something new and use their imagination to draw and design.

The Nature Explorer’s Scrapbook by Caz Buckingham and Andrea Pinnington is part album in which you can collect and store your own nature treasure and part nature guide. Good explantions of the best practice to collect things.  An elastic band helps to keep the book shut as it can get bulky when the collection grows.

The book is divided into three sections: Earth, Air and Water. Earth explores  seeds, grasses, flowers, skulls, rocks, minerals and fossils, leaves, patterns, colours, tracks and signs. Air covers, clouds, feathers, owl pellets, moths, butterflies and insects, outer casings of mammals which are shed as they grow, and spores. Finally the  chapter on Water looks at beachcombing, seaweeds, shells, tadpoles, pond dipping, predicting rain and watery weather.

The Street Beneath My Feet

A fascinating journey deep underground. This double/sided fold out book shows the ground beneath the city on one side, whilst the ground beneath the countryside is on the reverse side. Tunnels and pipes, creatures’ burrows and layers of rock.

By mixing urban and rural settings, it is a wonderful journey to enhance understanding of the natural world and looking for similarities and differences in the way we have built cities.

And its fold-out, ‘laperello’ style, it is the perfect book for  spreading out on the floor to pore over for hours. Love it!

For more tips check out  9 Nature Books Perfect for Biomimicry

Featured Photo: Pixabay