Field Trips: Bug Hunting, Animal Tracking, Bird-Watching, Shore Walking

by Jim Arnosky

With Jim Arnosky as your guide, an ordinary hike becomes an eye-opening experience. He'll help you spot a hawk soaring far overhead and note the details of a dragonfly up close. Study the black-and-white drawings -- based on his own field research -- and you'll discover if those tracks in the brush were made by a deer or a fox.

In his celebrated style, this author, artist, and naturalist enthusiastically shares a wealth of tips. Jim Arnosky wants you to enjoy watching wildlife. He carefully explains how field marks, shapes, and location give clues for identifying certain plants and animals wherever you are. He gives hints for sharpening observational skills. And he encourages you to draw and record birds, insects, shells, animal tracks, and other finds from a busy day's watch.

Genres: Nature, Nonfiction, Science, Childrens, Picture Books, Drawing

96 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2002

About the author

Jim Arnosky was born in New York City, NY Sept 1, 1946. He was raised in Pennsylvania. Jim graduated from high school in Philadelphia and joined the US Naval Reserves. His active duty took him to Maryland and Bremerhaven, Germany.

In 1976 Jim and his wife Deanna moved to Vermont with their two daughters where they have lived in an old farmhouse for the past 28 years. 17 of those years were spent raising sheep.

Jim is self taught in writing, art and the natural sciences. He has written and illustrated 86 books on nature subjects and has illustrated 46 other books written by various authors. He has been awarded the Christopher Medal, Orbis Pictus Honor, ALA Gordon Award, and Outstanding Science book awards from National Science Teachers Associations.

Jim loves to fish, boat, and play his guitar. In his work, he uses a Betacam SP video camcorder with a 1600 mm lens to record the wildlife he and Deanna find all across the country.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fabulous Jim Arnosky - author, artist and natural historian for the young - offers a useful field guide in this wonderful little book, presenting all sorts of helpful information and tips for young walkers and animal watchers. Divided into four sections, as enumerated in the sub-title, the book discusses bugs (defined colloquially as both insects and arachnids), land animals, birds, and water fauna and flora. Arnosky's reminiscences about his own time in the wild world are scattered throughout, and a helpful index is included at the rear...

Published in 2002, it is clear that Field Trips: Bug Hunting, Animal Tracking, Bird-Watching, Shore Walking has taken the informational content of the Jim Arnosky's Nature Notebooks series, published in 1997 - Bug Hunter , Animal Tracker , Bird Watcher , and Shore Walker - and combined it in a slightly edited and enhanced format. The notebooks were more than half blank, to provide young nature watchers a place to record their findings, whereas this title is not intended to be used in that way, simply presenting the information about each of the four subjects, together with Arnosky's detailed artwork and diagrams, and advising the reader to provide themselves with a separate notebook of their own. Still, having read two of the notebooks - Bug Hunter and Animal Tracker - and compared them to this title, it is clear that the majority of both text and illustration here are taken from these earlier titles. Given that this is so, I was very surprised to see no acknowledgement of this fact, in an author's foreword or afterword, in the dust-jacket blurb, or even on the book's colophon. I suppose that, since it is the author's own work, it isn't technically necessary, but I've never seen such an overt reworking as this, that didn't reference the earlier work. Leaving that issue aside, this is an informative and engaging title, and is one I would recommend to young animal and nature lovers, particularly those eager to get out into the world and see what they can see.

[Ronda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I'd had this book when I was a kid! Regardless, we have it now and I am thrilled. Anyone who is fascinated by the world around them, who wants to learn more, will find a kindred spirit in Jim Arnosky. His,gentle encouragement, saying things like "If you are always noticing footprints in your yard, on woodland paths, and on dusty trails, you are an animal tracker." He does this for bug hunting and shore walking (any kind of shore, not just the beach) and, though he does not use the same wording "if you...." he explains how he identified himself as a bird watcher. I plan to pair this with "Who Pooped in the Park" when I am introducing the non-fiction sections of our library.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love,love,love this book! Packed with a lot of information and given in a simple readable form. His illustrations and nature journal examples are spectacular. Would love to find this book at a thrift store, sad to have to give this back to the library....krb 7/24/20

[Eunice · Rating 5 out of 5]

6+ Great book for nature study! Nice simple illustrations. A lot of different kinds of paw prints. Choose to measure pawprints and length of steps/jump. Lots of bird silhouettes. Shows nice simple ways to draw landscapes. Common seashells, fossils, underwater plants and shoreline trees and plants.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book and three small sketchbooks to take along on walks with my grandsons. The plan is to make our own nature journals.

[Janna Odenthal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jim Arnosky, in a word, indescribable! I wish I had every single one of his books!!!❤️

[Stacy Atherton Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is less of a story and more of a field guide, but it is truly a treasure trove of information.

[Kidsbookworm · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was so thrilled to find a new copy of Arnosky's Field Trips!

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to purchase this book now...

[Caren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have loved this book as a kid!
Good tips for the young, budding, naturalist.