For Backyard Explorers

How Things Work in the Yard

As bugs begin to flit about and crawl up fingers this spring, children will be racing inside with questions about all that they see.

To help nurture their enthusiasm for nature and activities they love to do in the yard, here are two learning books that will keep them wide-eyed to the last page:

Bugs by the Numbers, an insect book that wows with graphics and facts, and How Things Work in the Yard, an exploration of creatures and playthings in a child's backyard.

For more about these sweet titles from Blue Apple Books, read my reviews below!

How Things Work in the Yard

Words and Art by Lisa Campbell Ernst

Blue Apple Books, 2011

$14.99, ages 4-8, 40 pages

Eyes will dart around the pages of this charming book as if they were taking in a yard awakening with activity.

With adorable paper cut-outs and facts that say just enough, award-winning Ernst answers 20 questions about what children see as they play in their yard.

Each question is posed as child would ask it: How does it work? -- whether the thing is mechanical or not -- and this gives the story a sweet feeling from the start.