Earth Almanac

Nature's Calendar for Year-Round Discovery

by Illustrated by

256 pages
Publisher: Skipstone
ISBN: 978-1-68051-282-3
Published: Mar 23, 2020

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Description

Outdoor Writers Association of America Excellence in Craft Award Winner

Earth Almanac presents the greatest hits of North American nature! Structured around phenology, which is the study of seasonal patterns in nature, the day-by-day descriptions offer insight into activities and connections throughout the natural world.

Beginning with the Winter Solstice in December, Earth Almanac highlights a wide range of natural history, including mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, insects, intertidal and marine life, trees, plants, fungi, weather phenomenon, geology, astronomy, notable environmental activists, and more, and reveals the ebb and flow of nature across the planet. Each season features more than 90 entries, and sidebars throughout provide calls to environmental action, citizen science opportunities, and details on special dates or holidays. The book can be enjoyed one day, month, or season at a time--dip in and out as you observe the world around you.

Contributors

Illustrated by

Details

256 pages
Publisher: Skipstone
ISBN: 978-1-68051-282-3
Published: Mar 23, 2020

Reviews

Naturalist Ken Keffer’s Earth Almanac is a welcome doorway to that world and would make an excellent gift for anyone seeking to connect with nature and its curiosities. It provides brief daily entries filled with gripping facts about natural history and seasonal patterns; reading them unveils the interdependence of various forms of life and the environment. These synopses are nicely complemented by the delightful drawings of Jeremy Collins.
— Efraín E. Rivera-Serrano, American Scientist
Each season, month, and day offers its own small but fascinating insight into the natural world. It's been such a balm to be able to mark 2020 in moments of wonder.... A great gift for the nature-lover in your life!
— Porter Square Books Staff Pick
In pointing out the curiosities and wonders of the natural world, Keffer invites you to suss out the relationships and connections between life forms and the environment they’re situated in, both close to home and further afield.
— Barbara Lloyd McMichael, Coast Weekend
Keffer brings the relevance of the season to his descriptions with accuracy and charm. The illustrations, both full-color and line drawings, are wonderful and add a great deal to the enjoyment of reading Earth Almanac.
— Danise Hoover, Booklist
Keffer has fun with his topics, and shares the bizarre and the everyday surprises all around us. You’ll learn how ants disperse seeds, the mating dances of various birds and snow by lakes isn’t necessarily “lake effect” snow. It’s organized for daily reading, perfect for by the fire or on the back porch. But you may find, as I did, it’s difficult to keep from reading ahead.
— Matthew L. Miller, The Nature Conservancy's Cool Green Science
Impressively informative and thoroughly 'reader friendly' in organization and presentation, Earth Almanac: Nature's Calendar for Year-Round Discovery is a profusely illustrated and extraordinary compendium of facts and stories about the biodiversity and the natural world of North America.
— Michael Carson, Midwest Book Review
Beautifully illustrated, Earth Almanac makes a delightful daily read-aloud with family. Keffer’s generalist approach offers encouragement to budding naturalists, inviting us to action as field data collectors and advocates for the earth.
— Susannah Felts, BookPage (starred review)
Lively and lovely, Ken Keffer’s Earth Almanac is a fun, enlightening guide to the wonders of nature throughout the seasons.
— Kristine Morris, Foreword Reviews (starred review)