GooGooGallery: Obscure Scan Sunday: A Day in the Woods

National Geographic
By Ronald M. Fisher
Photographs by Gordon W. Gahan
Illustrations by Tony Chen
1975

The Boog loves BUGS! We have an extensive library on the subjects of bugs/insects/nature. Natural Science has encompassed our daily lives since she was about 4 years old. This is probably very common in little ones, as they have such healthy appetites for knowledge. What she loves more than anything though are realistic picture books. Informational picture books are at the heart of our collection right now. Stories where children interact with other children are especially gobbled up with enthusiasm.

This book in particular has the best of both worlds. We get to follow young Harley and Joan on a forest adventure.

Cricket Frog

Larva of Rusty Mud Salamander

Inspecting a dead log in the forest

"A dead log in the forest is like an apartment house. Creatures of all kinds move in. Some live under it. Some live in it. Some dig tunnels in the ground below it... In many years the log will be gone. The plants and animals that feed on the log help to change it into soil."

Earth Worms and a Slug

"Some eggs look like little balls of glass. Slugs and snails lay eggs like these."

"A shiny black beetle crawls on Harley's knee. Next to it is a millipede with many legs. It pulls in it's legs and curls up like a wheel."

"The land snail lives in its shell. Inside, it looks like a slug."

Scarlet King Snake

"Joan has found a scarlet king snake on the forest floor. She knows its not poisonous. So she picks it up. Its skin feels smooth and dry. The snake wiggles and tries to get away. The king snake looks like a poisonous snake, called the coral snake. Never pick up any snake, unless an adult tells you it is not poisonous!"

"Joan and Harley find a piece of skin a snake has left behind."

"Joan stops and feels the rough bark of a pine tree. When the bark is rough, a corn snake can climb a tree without slipping."

"Joan and Harley dig up a young tree. They carry it to a sunny spot. They replant it so it will have room to grow."

"The children find some leafy ferns growing in shady parts of the forest. Poison Ivy can grow in shady spots too. The children are careful not to touch it. The oil in the plant can give them a very bad rash and blisters."