Books and Tools 

Books can enhance your hiking experience whether it is a field guide or a story told in the wilderness or a picture book about the joy of winter. For a picture book you might enjoy Wolf in the Snow by Matthew Cordell which won the 2018 Caldecott award and is mostly a wordless picture book. A young girl finds a lost wolf cub stranded in the snow, you will love the circularity of this beautiful story. If you love animal facts you can wander over to our newly enlarged nonfiction section to check out some books on the types of mammals we have in Maine from raccoons to foxes. For older children take a look at, The Acadia Files by Katie Coppens. This series uses real-world scenarios to make scientific inquiry fun and interesting. There is one written called Winter Science,in which Acadia Greene notices a melting snowman which leads her―of course!―to explore climate change and how to reduce her carbon footprint.  For a complete listing of books for children on the subject please go to our Catalog tab and search using one of the words winter, hiking,mammals or survival. You might also consider borrowing one of the library’s adventure packs: seashore, hiking and/or birding depending on your hike’s focus.

 

Tips

• Bring your children and dogs on a leash. Great for all ages!
• Print the preserve’s map by going to the Blue Hill Heritage Site. A map always helps and is a great tool for children to learn how to use.  
• Take binoculars and something to measure your tracks if you have them. You will see some amazing birds even in the winter, as well as evidence of wildlife on the trail.