Walking the World in Wonder

HERBALISM / AGES 5-10 Created especially for children ages five to ten years old, Walking the World in Wonder covers the medicinal and magical uses of sixty-seven common herbs. Each herb playfully introduces itself and talks about its habitat and many uses. With fun, easy-to-follow activities, herbalist Ellen Evert Hopman teaches children basic herbal skills and invites them to make a sunflower seed mosaic, sew a catnip-filled mouse, and dig for Jerusalem artichoke roots. The book also includes simple recipes that children can use, with adult supervision, to treat minor ailments--peppermint tea to soothe a troubled tummy or plantain salve to heal a scraped knee. Children gain a sense of self-sufficiency and awe for the earth's treasures by eating wild nettle greens, sprinkling a sandwich with nasturtium flowers, making strawberry honey, and learning to season food with dill they've gathered themselves. Parents and teachers will appreciate how these earth-centered activities are placed within a broader social and environmental context. Sixty-seven full-color photographs enable children, parents, and teachers to identify these herbs during walks and field trips. Walking the World in Wonder gives children a direct and joyous experience of their connection to the natural world and inspires a lifelong interest in their own health and that of the planet. ELLEN EVERT HOPMAN is a master herbalist and holds an M.Ed. in mental health counseling. She is the author of A Druid's Herbal for the Sacred Earth Year; Tree Medicine, Tree Magic; and coauthor, with Lawrence Bond, of People of the Earth. Hopman resides in Massachusetts.