Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature

This gorgeously illustrated volume of poetry — sprinkled with facts and fun things to do — sows an early love for nature in all its beauty and wonder.

The buzz of bees in summertime. The tracks of a bird in the winter snow. This beautiful book captures all the sights and sounds of a child’s interactions with nature, from planting acorns or biting into crisp apples to studying tide pools or lying back and watching the birds overhead. No matter what’s outside their windows — city streets or country meadows — kids will be inspired to explore the world around them. Written by award-winning author Nicola Davies and illustrated by Mark Hearld, a breathtaking new talent in children’s books, Outside Your Window is a stunning reminder that the natural world is on our doorstep waiting to be discovered.

Nicola Davies is a zoologist and an award-winning author whose many books for children include Surprising Sharks, illustrated by James Croft; Extreme Animals: The Toughest Creatures on Earth, illustrated by Neal Layton; and Gaia Warriors. Nicola Davies lives in Wales.

“To write Outside Your Window I cast off my grown-up self and found the me I was at five or six. Inside that younger self I could see the world as I saw it first — not just the sights and sounds of nature, but the feelings and the thoughts about it that ran through me, strong as the tide.” — Nicola Davies

Mark Hearld is a distinguished artist who makes prints, paintings, collages, textiles, and ceramics that are inspired by the natural world, especially by animals. He lives in England.