Reviews:
Here's one from
ForeWord Magazine.
"The question of how parents should
appropriately connect their children with nature is accessibly
and gently articulated here. This is a great book for a wide
range of parents and is full of the realities of parenting in a
postmodern age. Whereas Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods
is issues oriented and broadly sociological, A Natural Sense of
Wonder is hands on."
—David Sobel, author of Beyond Ecophobia
"A Natural Sense of Wonder is a wonderful,
timely, and much needed lyrical reminder of the fundamental
importance of children's ongoing experience of nature as the
basis of creativity, problem-solving, critical thinking, and so
much more that ultimately makes us human. People evolved in
close association with the natural world and consequently became
genetically encoded to maintain this association as the
wellspring of their physical, mental, and even moral and
spiritual condition. This is, of course, most true and and
relevant in children's maturation and development. Van Noy's
book is a profoundly moving, powerful, and eloquent reminder of
this basic truth with which our modern society, estranged from
nature, has lost touch to its ultimate detriment."
—Stephen R. Kellert, co-editor of Children and Nature:
Psychological, Sociocultural, and Evolutionary Investigations
"All parents, take note! In this enthusiastic
and poetic drift of essays, Van Noy sets out to unveil the
natural world for his children and finds himself on his own
voyage of discovery. Walking in the footsteps of Rachel Carson,
who believed that nature provided young people an 'inner
resource of strength' to last a lifetime, Van Noy seeks to imbue
children with wonder. This book, which moves at the delightful
pace of a summer's day, is filled with the passion of a good
naturalist and the sensibilities of a loving parent. Its
motherlode chapter, 'Dirt World,' which offers advice on how to
get children outdoors, is worth the price of the book."
—Janisse Ray, author of Ecology of a Cracker Childhood
"'Here's something!' says Van Noy's daughter
when she spots a snail trail on their sidewalk, and her father
pays attention. A Natural Sense of Wonder is filled with
explorations of such 'ordinary enchantments' too often lost in
the swirl of our hyper-scheduled lives. Van Noy treats his
children and his readers with warmth and respect, seamlessly
squeezing a good deal of natural history, etymology, and
literary savvy into his stories of snot-otters and snake
whisperers. He is a 'full participant' in his family's home
territory on Virginia's New River, and we can ask for no better
reminder that 'every moment is a now' in our own home
landscapes."
-Stephen Trimble, co-author of The Geography of
Childhood: Why Children Need Wild Places
