Daisy and the Trouble with Nature; Kes Gray

“Where’s the nature?” Everyone at Daisy’s school was excited when the new school nature garden was unveiled. But it’s been a week and there’s no sign of any nature, just bricks and mud. If nature won’t come to school then school will have to come to nature. Despite everyone’s efforts to capture nature, the collection of caterpillars, ants, ladybirds, worms, slugs and other insects isn’t much and the insects don’t stick around for long. Soon the children are left staring at bricks and mud again. Maybe a camping trip with Gabby and her dad will be the opportunity to try and catch some more nature…

Oh Daisy, there is no end to her misadventures in trying to catch nature. From misbehaving gardening gloves to shaking sticks to uncooperative spiders. Daisy is terrible at waiting and her exploits in trying to catch nature are hilarious. It turns out that nature is not very compliant when it comes to being caught as Daisy discovers.

The characters in the story will be very relatable for readers. Daisy and her lack of patience, a child who has an answer for everything (even if it is not necessarily accurate or truthful) and a child who is a bit of a know-it-all (who regularly provides factual snippets of information about nature).

This is a sweet and warm-hearted read that is very accessible to those who are new readers of chapter books. It may seem like a daunting read at close to 300 pages but readers should not let that be a deterrent - the large text is easy to read and there are plenty of black and white illustrations throughout.

One that nature lovers and impatient children will find much to delight in.

Recommended for 6+.