City Safari

When a child walks down a city block, they might see a natural wasteland. A sea of gray with no signs of life. A solitary, sickly, over-pruned tree confined to a square of dirt penned in by concrete. However, what a child might not see are the precarious but sturdy squirrel nests above their heads at the tops of gnarled and crooked trees. The perches of raptors on the tallest buildings. Rookeries for pigeon chicks nestled on parking garage ceiling beams. The white drippings under a tree cavity that give away an owl tucked inside. Or the crevice in a rock wall leading to the cozy nook of a family of rodents. In fact, most cities are teeming with nature if you know where and how to look. City Safari will teach middle grade readers just that. It will equip children with the perfect tool for visualizing their city’s natural side—revealing a world of urban wildlife hidden in plain sight.

Part natural history guide, part training manual, and part hands-on fieldwork guide, City Safari will take readers on a quest through the wilds of their city, leaving them with lifelong naturalist skills.