A Field Guide to the Familiar

This field guide invites all aspiring naturalists to focus on one familiar plant, animal, or natural phenomenon at a time, and observe it in detail. It offers descriptive information on dozens of common subjects — from frost and fruit flies to blue jays and beech trees — and includes a stunning drawing of each. Organized by seasons, it encourages readers to look more closely at the natural cycles of life in our world, and discover how much there is to learn. Whether read sequentially or used as a field companion or handy desk reference, A Field Guide to the Familiar (first published in 1984, and reprinted here with new reading suggestions) gives everyone a sense of the natural world as an accessible — and endlessly fascinating — place.

"Goes far beyond the scope of any nature guide. I've read. It's not just a means of identifying and understanding the characteristics of dozens of roadside birds, flowers, trees, and animals, but an unabashed celebration of them ... Anyone interested in our everyday natural surroundings: country dwellers, city dwellers, teachers and students (the book will an excellent supplementary text for life science and biolgy classes), professional naturalists and backyard bird watches can benefit from it". — Howard Frank Mosher, Rutland Herald

A book for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the natural world.

Designed both to encourage beginning naturalists and to challenge more experienced observers to look at the familiar in new ways, A Field Guide to the Familiar offers an introduction to common plants, animals, and natural phenomena. Beautiful drawings add to the book's refreshing approach to nature study. Organized by the seasons of the year, each chapter focuses on one subject and one learning objective. From fall's first frost to the field crickets of high summer, this innovative guide explores in depth such familiar sights as bumblebees, rainbows, acorns, blueberries, and shooting stars.

Each chapter includes descriptive information to help readers identify each subject, as well as life cycle information that shows how a subject functions within a grander scheme. Readers learn that every plant and animal - even the atmosphere - has its own story, and they begin to perceive the natural world as whole, interconnected, and continuous. Whether read sequentially or used as a field companion or handy desk reference, A Field Guide to the Familiar gives every reader a sense of the natural world as an accessible - and endlessly fascinating - place.