A Child’s Book of the Seasons {and} Pond and Stream

With the last load of hay
Light-heart Summer trips away,
When the cuckoo’s double note
Chokes within his mottled throat,
Then we country children say,
Light-heart Summer trips away.

Fun Nature Readers by Arthur Ransome

Arthur Ransome was an English author most famous for his series Swallows and Amazons about children on holiday. He also wrote about London, and about Russia before, during, and after the revolution.

The books featured in this post are his earliest works, and they revolve around simple nature stories for children.

A Child’s Book of the Seasons contains four fairly short stories, one for each season. The stories do mention imps, elves, and other magical creatures. There is a color illustration for each story.

Download A Child’s Book of the Seasons from gutenberg.org.

Pond and Stream also contains four short stories. This time the focus is on animals and plants that live in the habitat.

This is a book about the things that are jolly and wet: streams, and ponds, and ditches, and all the things that swim and wriggle in them.

Some of the animals discussed are otters, beavers, minnows, kingfishers, and even tadpoles!

Download Pond and Stream from gutenberg.org.