Synopses & Reviews
What kind of world would you like to inhabit? To imagine something different, better, or more interesting is to push the existing world into a state of change. Some of the greatest revolutionary acts of our time came to be because someone had the courage to imagine something new.
In The Imaginary World of
, Keri Smith asks readers to imagine something new: a unique world of their own making.
Readers start by creating a list of everything to which theyre drawn: things they love and collect, colors, shapes, ideas, people, and creatures that fascinate them. The items in the list will become the building blocks for their imaginary worlds, used to create texture and establish a foundation for the new place theyll begin to inhabit. Readers will then be prompted to think about landscape, place names, maps, currency, residents, logos, foods, histories, and more for their world.
An indispensable guide for artists, dreamers, activists, and kids of all ages, The Imaginary World of
will encourage readers to become revolutionaries of everyday life, chronicling the possibilities in the brave new worlds they envision.
Review
"No matter where you start or where you end, there's always something interesting to do...The book is an exploration into creativity."
Review
“Both daring and meditative,
How to Be an Explorer of the World is part Maira Kalman, part Wendy MacNaughton, part its very own kind of whimsy, delivering — beautifully — exactly what it says on the tin, with an invitation to be just a little bit more alive each day.”
—Brain Pickings
Review
and#8220;Marcie Cuff makes nature even more fun than the way you find it. This is aand#160;book about imagination and creativityand#8212;and getting dirty. The projects in
Thisand#160;Book Was a Tree remind me of the dozens of ways we can all connect with theand#160;natural world on a daily basis. And since Marcie writes from the heart, you canand#160;just feel the satisfaction and even joy youand#8217;ll get from connecting a little bit moreand#160;with the world around you. She has ideas that everyone can try alone or withand#160;friends or family. Sheand#8217;s going to make a lot of lives simpler, happier, and moreand#160;plugged in to the world thatand#8217;s all around us.and#8221;and#160;and#8212;David Yarnold, President and CEO of National Audubon Society
and#8220;It really is good to get dirty, and this is a wonderful guidebook to exactly how!and#8221;and#160;and#8212;Bill McKibben, author of Wandering Home
and#8220;Somewhere, in a book of advice on aging, I read a fine adage: Do somethingand#160;real every day. Thatand#8217;s good advice for people of every age. From the title of theand#160;book, through all of its pages of ideas and adventures, Marcie Chambers Cuffand#160;helps us remember whatand#8217;s real and what makes kids and their families feel fullyand#160;alive in a virtual age.and#8221;and#160;and#8212;Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle
and#8220;Whether you live in a twenty-story building in the middle of the city or on aand#160;twenty-acre preserve, this beautifully illustrated book urges us all to exploreand#160;the outdoors like never before. Full of fun, simple ideas and endless inspiration,and#160;Cuff and#8217;s book will help all ages get creative and get connectedand#8212;to nature, toand#160;the process, and to the world in which we live.and#8221;and#160;and#8212;Bernadette Noll, author of Slow Family Living
and#8220;A book that wonderfully captures the wandering and wonderment of myand#160;youthand#8212;and brings it to life again. Part project, part prose, what was destined forand#160;my eleven-year-old niece in New England has managed to linger on my deskand#160;for too long. I might even keep it for myself!and#8221;and#160;and#8212;M. Sanjayan, lead scientist at the Nature Conservancy and TV host
and#8220;This book still is a tree: to climb, survey, and touch the simple wonders of nature.and#160;Marcie Chambers Cuff gives us back the physical world: Most of all, sheand#160;returns it to our children.and#8221;and#160;and#8212;Adrian Higgins, garden columnist for the Washington Post
and#8220;This Book Was a Tree is full of sparks to reignite your curiosity and engagementand#160;with the natural world around you.and#8221;and#160;and#8212;Toby A. Adams, director of the Edible Academy atand#160;the New York Botanical Garden
and#8220;If we forget where we came from, we are lost. Marcieand#8217;s book offers a path homeand#160;and endless opportunities to learn. We love what we know, so we have to beginand#160;with the knowing, and this book can help you begin. This Book Was a Tree canand#160;help anyone begin to love the natural world around them and want to be partand#160;of it.and#8221;and#160;and#8212;Ellen D. Ketterson, distinguished professor of biology andand#160;executive producer of Ordinary Extraordinary Junco
and#8220;If orangutans, Asian elephants, and crows can improvise creative ways to interactand#160;with nature, Marcie Cuff shows us: so can we! You are very lucky that youand#160;have picked up this book. Now go get your hands dirty and have fun!and#8221;and#160;and#8212;Melanie Choukas-Bradley, naturalist and author of City of Trees
and#8220;Marcie Cuff and#8217;s book is a treasure! Even a diehard nature lover like me foundand#160;new inspiration and ideas for getting my kid to put down the screens and comeand#160;outside and explore, ask questions, and get our hands dirty while learningand#160;about this magnificent planet we share. Any parent who is frustrated by theand#160;draw of todayand#8217;s relentless gadgets should bring this book home.and#8221;and#160;and#8212;Annie Leonard, author and host of The Story of Stuff
and#8220;This Book Was a Tree is a strong and creative shout-out to all of us who areand#160;artists, teachers, naturalists, parents, and simply humans. This book begs us toand#160;put down our button-pushing gadgets and challenges us to reconnect to natureand#160;through pages of timeless projects, creative acts, and deep thought. From guerrillaand#160;gardening to pinhole cameras to phenology, Ms. Cuff covers it all with theand#160;expertise of a scientist and a mother. This is not another book of and#8216;nature craftsand#8217;and#160;you can do with a paper plate or a corn husk. The introduction alone may bringand#160;you to tears with an urgent message speaking of global damage, environmentaland#160;degradation, and ozone depletion. The author invites us to keep a foot in bothand#160;worlds knowing that we can come to our senses through purposeful and funand#160;exploration of the natural environment around us, no matter where we live. Iand#160;applaud This Book Was a Tree for being a tree first and giving the author theand#160;pages to share with us the most important message of our time.and#8221;and#160;and#8212;Amy Butler, director of education for the North Branch Nature Center andand#160;founder of ECO (Educating Children Outdoors)
and#8220;It becomes obvious early on that writing This Book Was a Tree was a laborand#160;of love for author Marcie Chambers Cuff. The passion in her words and convictionand#160;in her messages are real, and comforting. Her message is simple: Stepand#160;away from the A/V technology of the twenty-first century and go outside toand#160;experience the natural world. Overcome the inertia of home comforts and goand#160;out and get dirty, poke things with a stick (dead things, which is how all wildlifeand#160;biologists get their start), look around, use that acorn between your shoulders,and#160;and become creative, think on your own. This book is not just for city folk, norand#160;is it just for kids. Itand#8217;s something to be shared between parent and child, teacherand#160;and student. It belongs at home and in schools. Itand#8217;s projects and adventures toand#160;be shared for years and among generations.and#8221;and#160;and#8212;Michael J. Petrula, research and management biologist,and#160;Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation
Synopsis
From the author of
Wreck This Journal, an interactive guide for exploring and documenting the art and science of everyday life.
Artists and scientists analyze the world around them in surprisingly similar ways, by observing, collecting, documenting, analyzing, and comparing. In this captivating guided journal, readers are encouraged to explore their world as both artists and scientists.
The mission Smith proposes? "To document and observe the world around you. As if you've never seen it before. Take notes. Collect things you find on your travels. Document findings. Notice patterns. Copy. Trace. Focus on one thing at a time. Record what you are drawn to."
With a series of interactive prompts and a beautifully hand-illustrated two-color package, readers will enjoy exploring and discovering the world through this gorgeous book.
Synopsis
From the internationally bestselling creator of Wreck This Journal, an interactive guide for exploring and documenting the art and science of everyday life.
Artists and scientists analyze the world around them in surprisingly similar ways, by observing, collecting, documenting, analyzing, and comparing. In this captivating guided journal, readers are encouraged to explore their world as both artists and scientists.
The mission Smith proposes? To document and observe the world around you as if you've never seen it before. Take notes. Collect things you find on your travels. Document findings. Notice patterns. Copy. Trace. Focus on one thing at a time. Record what you are drawn to.
Through this series of beautifully hand-illustrated interactive prompts, readers will enjoy exploring and discovering the world in ways they never even imagined.
Synopsis
From the author of Wreck This Journal, an interactive guide for exploring and documenting the art and science of everyday life.Artists and scientists analyze the world around them in surprisingly similar ways, by observing, collecting, documenting, analyzing, and comparing. In this captivating guided journal, readers are encouraged to explore their world as both artists and scientists.
The mission Smith proposes? ?To document and observe the world around you. As if you?ve never seen it before. Take notes. Collect things you find on your travels. Document findings. Notice patterns. Copy. Trace. Focus on one thing at a time. Record what you are drawn to.?
With a series of interactive prompts and a beautifully hand-illustrated two-color package, readers will enjoy exploring and discovering the world through this gorgeous book.
Synopsis
The international bestseller…
For anyone who's ever had trouble starting, keeping, or finishing a journal or sketchbook comes this expanded edition of Wreck This Journal, an illustrated book that features a subversive collection of prompts, asking readers to muster up their best mistake and mess-making abilities and to fill the pages of the book (or destroy them). Through a series of creatively and quirkily illustrated prompts, acclaimed artist Keri Smith encourages journalers to engage in "destructive" acts--poking holes through pages, adding photos and defacing them, painting pages with coffee, coloring outside the lines, and more--in order to experience the true creative process. With Smith's unique sensibility, readers are introduced to a new way of art and journal making, discovering novel ways to escape the fear of the blank page and fully engage in the creative process.
Synopsis
From the creator of
Wreck This Journal, an exploration into the creative process and chance...
Within the pages of The Pocket Scavenger, youll be instructed to go on an unusual scavenger hunt, collecting a spectrum of random items: something that is miniature, a stain that is green, something from the year you were born, a used envelope, and more. Once your quarry is in hand, youll apply an alteration dictated solely by chance: create a funny character, make it into a building, conceal it, add polkadots, remove a section, add stripes, scribble on top, fold, turn into an article of clothing, make it pretty,” and so on.
The results: youll be forced out of habitual ways of thinking or acting, discover new connections, and try things you might not have done on your own, creating a version of The Pocket Scavenger that is unique, dependent on time, place, experience, and you.
Synopsis
At no time in human history have we been more disconnected with what lies outside our front doors. Within just a century, our relationship with our surroundings has transformed from one of exploration to one of disassociation. In
This Book Was a Tree, science teacher Marcie Cuff issues a call for a new era of pioneersand#151;not leathery, backwoods deerskin-wearing salt pork and hominy pioneers, but strong-minded, clever, crafty, mudpie-making, fort-building individuals committed to examining the natural world and deciphering natureand#8217;s perplexing puzzles.
Within each chapter, readers will discover a principle for reconnecting with the natural world around them, from learning to be still to discovering the importance of giving back. With a mix of science and hands-on crafts and activities, readers will be encouraged to brainstorm, imagine, and understand the world as inventive scientistsand#151;to touch, collect, document, sketch, decode, analyze, experiment, unravel, interpret, compare, and reflect.
and#160;
Synopsis
The nifty-sized follow-up to the international bestseller Wreck This Journalperfect for die-hard wreckers wherever they are in the world!
Featuring dozens of new activities as well as some of the most popular prompts from the original, Wreck This Journal Everywhere will have you travelling the city streets and country byways, filling the pages with man-made and natural objects, recording what you see, drawing, doodling -- and destroying pages as you go. Perfect for sliding in your pocket or stuffing in your bag, Wreck This Journal Everywhere is the ideal creative companion!
About the Author
Keri Smith has illustrated for The Washington Post, the New York Times, Ford Motor Company, People, The Body Shop, and Hallmark.