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Shanleya's Quest: A Botany Adventure for Kids Ages 9-99
In a mythical world where time is a liquid that falls as rain upon the land, young Shanleya paddles her canoe out to the tree islands to learn the plant traditions of her people. Each island is home to a separate family of plants and an unforgettable Guardian with lessons to teach about the identification and uses of those plants.
Shanleya's Quest is a truly unique educational book that presents botanical concepts and plant identification skills in an easy and fun metaphorical format for children as well as for adults who are young at heart.
The book begins with a creation myth that parallels evolutionary concepts, where life begins as bubbles in a puddle of soup under the radiance of Father Sun and the gentle glow of Mother Moon. The evolutionary tree of life becomes a literal part of the story, buried up to its branch-tips (the "islands") in an ocean of Time that just keeps getting deeper and deeper. This is the world that Shanleya explores by canoe, learning the essential characteristics of closely related plants on each island she visits.
Readers young and old can join Shanleya's Quest , learning the patterns to correctly identify more than 45,000 species of plants to their proper families. The Quest will change the way you see the world, enabling you to experience nature in a new and magical way that you probably never imagined possible.
Written by outdoor educator Thomas J. Elpel, author of Botany in a The Patterns Method of Plant Identification . Wonderfully illustrated by Gloria Brown, who blended botanical accuracy with fantasy to produce artwork that both captivates and educates!
The Shanleya's Quest Patterns in Plants Card Game is sold separately by the publisher.
Shanleya's Quest is a truly unique educational book that presents botanical concepts and plant identification skills in an easy and fun metaphorical format for children as well as for adults who are young at heart.
The book begins with a creation myth that parallels evolutionary concepts, where life begins as bubbles in a puddle of soup under the radiance of Father Sun and the gentle glow of Mother Moon. The evolutionary tree of life becomes a literal part of the story, buried up to its branch-tips (the "islands") in an ocean of Time that just keeps getting deeper and deeper. This is the world that Shanleya explores by canoe, learning the essential characteristics of closely related plants on each island she visits.
Readers young and old can join Shanleya's Quest , learning the patterns to correctly identify more than 45,000 species of plants to their proper families. The Quest will change the way you see the world, enabling you to experience nature in a new and magical way that you probably never imagined possible.
Written by outdoor educator Thomas J. Elpel, author of Botany in a The Patterns Method of Plant Identification . Wonderfully illustrated by Gloria Brown, who blended botanical accuracy with fantasy to produce artwork that both captivates and educates!
The Shanleya's Quest Patterns in Plants Card Game is sold separately by the publisher.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published August 30, 2005
26 people are currently reading
91 people want to read
About the author
Thomas J. Elpel
16 books28 followersThomas J. Elpel has authored numerous books on topics ranging from wilderness survival and botany to stone masonry, sustainable construction, and green economics.
He is the founder of Green University® LLC and Outdoor Wilderness Living School LLC (OWLS), as well as HOPS Press LLC and the Jefferson River Canoe Trail.
As a child, Tom was mentored by his grandmother, Josie Jewett. Together they explored the hills and meadows near Virginia City, Montana, collecting herbs, looking for arrowheads and watching wildlife. Grandma Josie helped Tom to learn about native plants and their uses, igniting a passion for nature that has inspired him ever since. She also sparked his interest in survival skills.
Tom's first serious exposure to wilderness survival skills began at the age of 16, when he went on a 26-day, 250-mile walkabout in the desert canyons of southern Utah with Boulder Outdoor Survival School. The following year he and Grandma Josie went together to Tom Brown's Tracker School in New Jersey.
From there Tom spent thousands of hours practicing, developing, and teaching survival skills in his "backyard" in the Rocky Mountains. These experiences led to writing his book Participating in Nature: Wilderness Survival and Primitive Living Skills.
Tom's basic philosophy is that wilderness survival skills are useful to connect with nature, yet you shouldn't run away from the problems of modern society. Instead, we need to apply the lessons of living close to nature to the challenge of solving our worldly problems.
Outdoor Wilderness Living School LLC is dedicated to providing Stone Age living skills classes and camping trips to public school groups. Tom launched Green University® LLC in 2004 to expand the curriculum from teaching merely primitive skills outward towards addressing issues of global sustainability.
In 2019 Tom enlisted former Green University students and led a "Missouri River Corps of Rediscovery" down the 2,341-mile Missouri River, as told in his award-winning book Five Months on the Missouri River: Paddling a Dugout Canoe.
He is the founder of Green University® LLC and Outdoor Wilderness Living School LLC (OWLS), as well as HOPS Press LLC and the Jefferson River Canoe Trail.
As a child, Tom was mentored by his grandmother, Josie Jewett. Together they explored the hills and meadows near Virginia City, Montana, collecting herbs, looking for arrowheads and watching wildlife. Grandma Josie helped Tom to learn about native plants and their uses, igniting a passion for nature that has inspired him ever since. She also sparked his interest in survival skills.
Tom's first serious exposure to wilderness survival skills began at the age of 16, when he went on a 26-day, 250-mile walkabout in the desert canyons of southern Utah with Boulder Outdoor Survival School. The following year he and Grandma Josie went together to Tom Brown's Tracker School in New Jersey.
From there Tom spent thousands of hours practicing, developing, and teaching survival skills in his "backyard" in the Rocky Mountains. These experiences led to writing his book Participating in Nature: Wilderness Survival and Primitive Living Skills.
Tom's basic philosophy is that wilderness survival skills are useful to connect with nature, yet you shouldn't run away from the problems of modern society. Instead, we need to apply the lessons of living close to nature to the challenge of solving our worldly problems.
Outdoor Wilderness Living School LLC is dedicated to providing Stone Age living skills classes and camping trips to public school groups. Tom launched Green University® LLC in 2004 to expand the curriculum from teaching merely primitive skills outward towards addressing issues of global sustainability.
In 2019 Tom enlisted former Green University students and led a "Missouri River Corps of Rediscovery" down the 2,341-mile Missouri River, as told in his award-winning book Five Months on the Missouri River: Paddling a Dugout Canoe.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 20, 2010
Mr. Elpel blends myth and botany in a way that is completely relatable for young children and enjoyable for the adults in their lives as well. Shenlaya is sent on a quest by her grandfather to learn about the plants and bring home edibles, medicines, and other useful herbaceous items to her tribe. This mission takes her to various islands, each watched over by a guardian who teaches her the signatures and attributes of their particular plant family. Shanleya is a clever and courageous character that the children enjoy.
The only complaint I have about this book is that I don't really understand the purpose of having the island guardians grow dangerous at night. Maybe it's because my children are younger than the recommended minimal age, but this part of the plot seems only to lend itself to carrying forth the notion that nighttime is scary.
Overall this is an outstanding resource for those parents who are guiding budding naturalists/herbalists. My children (6, 6, and 3) enjoy it immensely and ask for it to be read often. They've also incorporated Shanley's quest into their free play, which is wondeful to see.
The only complaint I have about this book is that I don't really understand the purpose of having the island guardians grow dangerous at night. Maybe it's because my children are younger than the recommended minimal age, but this part of the plot seems only to lend itself to carrying forth the notion that nighttime is scary.
Overall this is an outstanding resource for those parents who are guiding budding naturalists/herbalists. My children (6, 6, and 3) enjoy it immensely and ask for it to be read often. They've also incorporated Shanley's quest into their free play, which is wondeful to see.
July 21, 2020
Some quick information on a few plant families in story form.
May 14, 2015
We used this book as an introductory lesson to botany. It is a very short book (32 pages) that teaches kids (and grown ups!) how to identify plants from the mint, parsley, mustard, pea, lily, grass, rose, and aster families. It teaches you how to count petals and stamens and to observe leaf patterns, to narrow the plant in question down to its family and ultimately (hopefully) to a positive identification. We were able to use the information immediately-- we went outside and cataloged several weeds and herbs in our yard.
The book has a myth narrative, told with an evolutionary creation slant that some may find off-putting. But the use of guardians and islands was effective in visualizing each family, which made it a decent mneumonic. Some of the guardians were dangerous... I liked that the families that have poisonous plants were characterized by having a dangerous guardian-- it helps you to remember not to take risks with that particular plant family. But sometimes the guardians had no poisonous members in their family, and yet they still acted a little scary-- I'm not sure what the author was trying to convey there.
The kids enjoyed it, and we will be moving on to the author's more extensive Botany in a Day for our summer botany text next. There is a card game (available separately) that goes with Shanleya's Quest, to help you learn many plants and the common plant families they belong to. I recommend both for homeschoolers, especially for summertime learning when plants are in bloom, so that you can get some hands-on lessons going in conjunction with the book. Even better, I'd recommend growing a plant or two from each of the families listed in this book and have your students observe their growth cycle all season long.
The book has a myth narrative, told with an evolutionary creation slant that some may find off-putting. But the use of guardians and islands was effective in visualizing each family, which made it a decent mneumonic. Some of the guardians were dangerous... I liked that the families that have poisonous plants were characterized by having a dangerous guardian-- it helps you to remember not to take risks with that particular plant family. But sometimes the guardians had no poisonous members in their family, and yet they still acted a little scary-- I'm not sure what the author was trying to convey there.
The kids enjoyed it, and we will be moving on to the author's more extensive Botany in a Day for our summer botany text next. There is a card game (available separately) that goes with Shanleya's Quest, to help you learn many plants and the common plant families they belong to. I recommend both for homeschoolers, especially for summertime learning when plants are in bloom, so that you can get some hands-on lessons going in conjunction with the book. Even better, I'd recommend growing a plant or two from each of the families listed in this book and have your students observe their growth cycle all season long.
January 4, 2017
Such a good introduction to learning plant family traits. I was impressed how my kids started recognizing things in the outside world so easily after reading this, even my non botanically inclined son who usually ignores me talking about plants. You should definitely get the card game that is designed to go with this book too.
Want to Read
December 15, 2009There's a card game that goes along with the book.
May 17, 2021
Great book explaining the basics of plant families! Reminds me a bit of Kipling’s Just So Stories.
March 1, 2025
very accessible and informative. I haven't made it through Botany in a Day yet, and this was a good primer.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews