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Wild Things: Over 100 Magical Outdoor Adventures

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Have you ever wanted to find fairies in the garden, meet a unicorn, ride a dragon or share a picnic with a mermaid? Just because you've never seen these magical creatures doesn't mean they don't exist!

The Wild Things of stories and the imagination are everywhere, but they're shy, secretive, sometimes camouflaged and only reveal themselves to true believers.

This fantastical guidebook will help you track dragons, create fashions fit for a fairy, brew magic potions, build snow unicorns, discover trolls and go on night hunts to capture Moon magic. Search forests, meadows, fields, ponds, rivers and the seaside, as well as everyday places like school playgrounds, local parks or among the pots on the patio.

You can discover the mysteries of nature all year round and at any time of day or night. So switch your imagination on, use your senses, brush up on your magic skills and take a giant leap into the world of the Wild Things .

Activities include:


Tracking dragons
Creating fairy fashions
Brewing magic potions
Building snow unicorns
Discovering trolls
Capturing moon magic
Creating secret messages
Making a magical spellbook
Looking after the natural world
Designing a witches' costume
Creating your own broomstick
Making wild mini worlds
Bringing tree monsters to life
Leaving trails of monster prints
About Lonely Planet Kids: Lonely Planet Kids-an imprint of the world's leading travel authority Lonely Planet-published its first book in 2011. Over the past 45 years, Lonely Planet has grown a dedicated global community of travelers, many of whom are now sharing a passion for exploration with their children. Lonely Planet Kids educates and encourages young readers at home and in school to learn about the world with engaging books on culture, sociology, geography, nature, history, space and more. We want to inspire the next generation of global citizens and help kids and their parents to approach life in a way that makes every day an adventure. Come explore!

176 pages, Hardcover

Published April 16, 2019

72 people want to read

About the author

Jo Schofield

36 books5 followers

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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Profile Image for aMandalin.
238 reviews
March 2, 2022
Consensus: I would never let my kids read this book, wholly due to the magic/spell/mythical content portrayed as real to children. PROS: gorgeous real photos of nature and children, step by step instructions for doable, adorable, nature crafts including every setting possible: beach, forest, etc. and including every type of weather and season as well. I would definitely buy this if it didn’t have magic entwined ALL throughout the book, little crafts about making spells or magic wands or where to find magical creatures.
Profile Image for Tessa.
2,127 reviews92 followers
August 17, 2019
I would have died for this book when I was a kid and I still love it now. I definitely want to introduce my future children to it. Highly recommended to anyone with an active imagination.

Note for hyper-Christian parents: this book does include sections on making wands and spells (all in good fun, of course). I didn't have a problem with it but if you are the type of people who think Harry Potter is from the devil, you might.
Profile Image for Renee.
87 reviews
March 26, 2025
This was a lovely, thought out book and would be fun for Waldorf taught kiddos.
Way too much fantasy elements for my girl who’s in a Montessori school. Fairies, dragons, and potions would be fun for the right kids. But, since the book was only labeled “Outdoor Adventure” I guess I had expectations of more nature focused book.
Profile Image for Jodie Gale.
279 reviews12 followers
February 22, 2025
As an eco-psycho-spiritual psychotherapist - I LOVE this book and come back to it often. It was a wonderful companion throughout my nature therapy training and whilst home schooling in the pandemic. We ditched the school slides for making items in this book 🌲
Profile Image for J.
4,019 reviews34 followers
September 26, 2022
This was a book that when I opened it started off as catching my attention and bringing me in. This was the type of book that I would have loved to have as a child as it encourages young readers to get out to enjoy nature while exploring the imagination that rather fills up their minds. But afterwards the book loses its interest quite fast once I get into the body of the book.

The book has a strong start in explaining how the reader can train themselves to see the wild things in the world around them. It then discusses what the reader will need in their survival kit, what those items can be used for and how to sharpen their wild senses and the rules they should follow to keep safe while playing outdoors.

The book then breaks up the activities into whether you are looking for Dragons, Witches & Wizards, Elves & Fairies, Mini Worlds, Monsters, Mythological Beasts including Mermaids and Giants, Goblins, Trolls & Dark Creatures. The activities range from making your own spell book, to making various inks, spotting monsters in the elements, forming potions, making outfits for the wee people and so much more but once you get into reading the various chapters you will find that truly so much of the activities are repeated but turned around. For instance the book tells you how to make a witch/wizard wand but you can also make a fairy wand as well.

Another thing that concerned me about this book is the weird occult nature and being a child that used to play with similar matter it shouldn't bother me as much. But I don't ever remember my parents allowing me to play with bones or consider that I was dabbling in dark sorcery.

In the end I do have to give it points for being a fantasy book that allows children to see the possibilities of fantasy as they play in nature but the dark occult nature and the repetitive activities with variations just ultimately closed this book down for me.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews

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