Read All About It: Reader Response

Got a great comment on my Read All About It post from last week. So great, in fact, that I asked the commenter, Peter Schriemer, for permission to reprint it as a full post.

Peter is the creator and host of “Critter Quest!”, a show that teaches kids about the various creatures that live all around us. It will be airing on the new Smithsonian Networks that will be launching in September (although you can see a sneak preview now on the “Critter Quest!” site). He also runs Beyond Your Doorstep, a terrific interactive Web site with lots of great info and games for kids.

I'm thrilled that Peter is sharing the names of books that have inspired his adventurous spirit over the years. So, without further ado:

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Reading into Nature

Written by Peter Schriemer

“The lack of power to take joy in outdoor nature is as real a misfortune as the lack of power to take joy in books.”
- Theodore Roosevelt

That quote is so true. Both nature and books inspired me when I was young, and they continue to broaden my horizons today. For me, they inspire each other—books inspire my love of nature, and nature inspires me to read more books!

Growing up, my mom read many wonderful books to us children. One of them was Two Against the North by Farley Mowat, which is a book about two young men who must survive in the northern wilderness. Books like Two Against the North and Hatchet by Gary Paulsen (another boy against the elements book), inspired me to explore and pretend I had to survive in the woods. At one point I made a little hut out of branches and large sticks, and another time I made a raised bed frame with a willow bough mattress—that actually supported my weight!

Books like Farley Mowat’s Owls in the Family or Jean Craighead George’s My Side of the Mountain inspired me to rehabilitate wild creatures. For several years, we had a license to take care of orphaned baby mammals. We’d get a call about a baby squirrel, cottontail, or opossum that was found, and after caring for it until it could survive on its own, we would release it back into the wild. It was a very rewarding and educational experience.

As I have grown, my love of nature and books has continued to be intertwined. Whether reading Suburban Safari by Hannah Holmes (a great read!), Vernal Pools: Natural History and Conservation by Elizabeth Colburn, the many great wildlife adventure books by Theodore Roosevelt, or the poetic writings of American pioneer/naturalist William Bartram, my joy of nature and reading continues to bloom.

Today , I am the creator/writer/host of a hands-on nature show for children called “Critter Quest!” on Smithsonian Networks. I owe much of my inspiration to many good books while growing up, and I hope that if I can get children excited about the creatures that live around them—they might just want to read about them too!

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Thanks for sharing, Peter. I'm sure many of our Embrace Adventure visitors will want to check out these great books as well!

Comments

[Toni]

I'm definitely going to seek out these titles to read to my own boys, who are hooked on the "Survivorman" TV show. ;)