Every Natural Fact: Five Seasons of Open-Air Parenting

Amy Lou Jenkins
Holy Cow! Press (2010)
ISBN 9780982354513
Reviewed by Marissa Libbit for Reader Views (1/11)


“Every Natural Fact: Five Seasons of Open-Air Parenting” by Amy Lou Jenkins is a true collection of nature experiences the author shared with her eleven-year-old son DJ.  The author is a nature enthusiast who relishes in picking out bird sounds and identifying plants.  Agreeing to accompany his mother on many of her nature adventures, Jenkins’ son learns to appreciate nature, too, although sometimes acting as a typical, indifferent pre-teen.  The book is divided into ten chapters with different sightings highlighted such as eagle watching or crane spotting.  However, this is not simply a nature lesson on the joys of the Midwest.  On each outing as naturally as the beauty unfolds in front of mother and son, so does easy conversation about family, life, and religion.  The author delights in teaching life lessons to her son, knowing that too soon he will be a teenager who is perhaps less interested in being with his family. 

I enjoyed this book.  Jenkins has a beautiful way with words.  She visually captured the images she saw with her words.  The words flowed together poetically.  I have pre-teen children.  I could so easily relate to the fears of losing influence on my children when they will soon desire to be with their peers more than their father and me.  Jenkins should be applauded for recognizing these wonderful opportunities to have quiet thought-provoking moments with her son that may or may not have given rise to important conversation, but that definitely left an imprint in his mind.   She wasn’t just teaching her son to appreciate nature but to appreciate what is important in life.

I think every parent should read “Every Natural Fact.”  In this world of “go, go, go” we need to be reminded to pause, reflect, and soak in the important moments with our family.

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