Nature Stories Around the World

The Resilient Activist Snailbird Reading for Kids - A magical bird-like creature in bright primary colors reads a book from which a sprout is emerging.
The Resilient Activist’s BookBird

We are delighted to announce that Nature Stories Videos are also available in French, Italian, and Turkish! Just click on your preferred language.

How do you inspire a lifelong passion for the planet? Start early! Nature Stories Around the World sparks children’s interest in and connection to nature. We share engaging picture books with tales of our other-than-human neighbors and the secrets only they can share. 

Nature Stories Videos
Why Nature Stories
Other Nature Books
About Voice-Over Readers
Nature-Inspired Activities
Research on Youth Climate Resilience

Your Contribution Gives a Child The World

Nature has lessons for us all. Your donation to The Resilient Activist Children’s Programming helps ignite young minds through the power of nature – in both stories and activities. Your gift today allows us to reach even more children, share new ideas, record videos in multiple languages, and further expand our programming for children to enhance their knowledge of the natural world and support their emotional well-being in the face of climate change.  Make your donation here and it will be earmarked for a widening array of children’s programming.

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An Introduction

Introducing Nature Stories Around the World (4.5 min)

In this video, The Resilient Activist Founder Sami Aaron and Biomimicry educator Margo Farnsworth explain the seed of an idea that has since grown into their video series, “Nature Stories Around the World.”

The goal of Nature Stories is to spark renewed interest by children (and their parents) in the outdoors and provide a story pathway to those benefits by engaging with nature through outdoor activities while enhancing literacy along the way.   Learn more…

Story Videos

This video series highlights children’s books that educate kids about the power, balance, and relationships within nature.

When Nature Inspires: Biomimicry Collection

Some of these books reveal stories of biomimicry: the act of using what we learn from nature’s strategies to invent awe-inspiring solutions for challenges at work. The titles for stories in the Biomimicry Collection are in green. The BookBird picture appears in the descriptions for videos in the Biomimicry Collection.

Videos

1. Little Porcupine’s Winter Den by Susan Thompson-Hoffman (8 min | Age: 4+)

English The Resilient Activist Snailbird Reading for Kids - A magical bird-like creature in bright primary colors reads a book from which a sprout is emerging. French The Resilient Activist Snailbird Reading for Kids - A magical bird-like creature in bright primary colors reads a book from which a sprout is emerging. Italian The Resilient Activist Snailbird Reading for Kids - A magical bird-like creature in bright primary colors reads a book from which a sprout is emerging. Turkish

Visit Little Porcupine with us as she seeks a place to rest in winter.  It’s not an easy journey as she meets other creatures who might have other plans in mind!
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2. Stellaluna, written and illustrated by Janell Cannon (12.5 min | Age: 4+)

English The Resilient Activist Snailbird Reading for Kids - A magical bird-like creature in bright primary colors reads a book from which a sprout is emerging. French The Resilient Activist Snailbird Reading for Kids - A magical bird-like creature in bright primary colors reads a book from which a sprout is emerging. Italian The Resilient Activist Snailbird Reading for Kids - A magical bird-like creature in bright primary colors reads a book from which a sprout is emerging. Turkish

Separated from her mother before she is old enough to fly, the little fruit bat Stellaluna finds herself all alone – until she meets some unexpected friends who show her a surprising new way of seeing the world.
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3. Verdi, by Janell Cannon (13 min | Age: 4+)

English The Resilient Activist Snailbird Reading for Kids - A magical bird-like creature in bright primary colors reads a book from which a sprout is emerging. French The Resilient Activist Snailbird Reading for Kids - A magical bird-like creature in bright primary colors reads a book from which a sprout is emerging. Italian The Resilient Activist Snailbird Reading for Kids - A magical bird-like creature in bright primary colors reads a book from which a sprout is emerging. Turkish

When Verdi’s mother tells him to grow up big and green, Verdi can’t imagine why.  All the big green snakes seem lazy, boring, and rude.  Besides, he really loves his bright yellow skin and sporty stripes.  So Verdi decides he simply won’t turn green – which is why he finds himself in a heap of trouble.
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4. How An Idea from Nature Changed Our World: The Story of Velcro, by Dorna Schroeter, The Resilient Activist Snailbird Reading for Kids - A magical bird-like creature in bright primary colors reads a book from which a sprout is emerging. (8 min | Age: 5+)

English The Resilient Activist Snailbird Reading for Kids - A magical bird-like creature in bright primary colors reads a book from which a sprout is emerging. French The Resilient Activist Snailbird Reading for Kids - A magical bird-like creature in bright primary colors reads a book from which a sprout is emerging. Italian The Resilient Activist Snailbird Reading for Kids - A magical bird-like creature in bright primary colors reads a book from which a sprout is emerging. Turkish

When Georges took his dog, Sven, out for a walk that day he never dreamed he’d find the key to creating an invention we still use today!  Sven didn’t know it either – but wherever Georges went Sven was more than happy to go too!
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5. Biomimicry: When Nature Inspires Amazing Inventions, by Séraphine Menu and Emmanuelle Walker The Resilient Activist Snailbird Reading for Kids - A magical bird-like creature in bright primary colors reads a book from which a sprout is emerging. (18.5 min | Age: 7+)

The Resilient Activist Snailbird Reading for Kids - A magical bird-like creature in bright primary colors reads a book from which a sprout is emerging. English The Resilient Activist Snailbird Reading for Kids - A magical bird-like creature in bright primary colors reads a book from which a sprout is emerging.

Learn about the science of biomimicry – mimicking nature to solve human challenges – and all the different professions which are better now that we have accessed nature’s genius!
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Why We Are Creating Nature Stories Videos

Nature Stories is an online “read aloud”  storytime. Selected readers will eventually share their favorite nature picture books, in a number of languages, to help connect or reconnect kids to the natural world. In the first phase of this project, all books are read in English.

Children have paid a steep price for being disconnected from nature in the forms of increased diagnoses of attention deficit disorder, higher rates of obesity, and soaring levels of emotional illnesses. Fortunately, numerous studies show that by being exposed to the natural world children can experience higher levels of creativity, lower levels of stress, and improved overall health. 

The goal of Nature Stories is to spark renewed interest by children (and their parents) in the outdoors and provide a story pathway to those benefits by engaging with nature through outdoor activities while enhancing literacy along the way.  

In the earliest days of this project, Biomimicry Fellow Margo Farnsworth reached out to Sami Aaron with The Resilient Activist who was delighted to create this partnership and make this project a reality. An action plan was formed. Books were selected. Then videographer Phoebe Mussman offered her expertise to film and edit them for the first release of the videos read in English by Margo. They are now ready to be shared with curious kids – of all ages – around the world.

The Resilient Activist Snailbird Reading for Kids - A magical bird-like creature in bright primary colors reads a book from which a sprout is emerging.

Other Nature Books You Might Enjoy

Nature Did It First: Engineering Through Biomimicry – by Karen Ansberry          

A look at some of the solutions we have borrowed from nature to solve engineering challenges. How did cockleburrs inspire Velcro®? What did studying a gecko lizard’s feet teach us about how to design surgical adhesive? A beautifully illustrated introduction to biomimicry for children ages 5 to 11.

Outside and Inside Snakes – by Sandra Markle          

A perennial favorite of the very young, snakes take the spotlight in this richly informative and beautifully photographed book. The enthusiastic text explores both the outside of snakes — how they hatch, hunt, eat, and have babies—and their insides—bones, teeth, internal organs, and even snake embryos.

Crow and Weasel – by Barry Lopez         

In the distant era of myth time, when people and animals still spoke the same language, two young men set out on horseback to travel farther north than any of their people have ever gone before.  In this novella-length fable, Barry Lopez, the best-selling author of Of Wolves and Men, and Artic Dreams, returns to his abiding concerns – our spiritual relationship to the landscape, respect for traditions different from our own, and our human obligations to one another.

The Lost Words – by Robert Macfarlane            

All over the country, there are words disappearing from children’s lives. Words like Dandelion, Otter, Bramble, Acorn, and Lark represent the natural world of childhood, a rich landscape of discovery and imagination that is fading from children’s minds.
The Lost Words stands against the disappearance of wild childhood. It is a joyful celebration of the poetry of nature words and the living glory of our distinctive, British countryside. With acrostic spell-poems by peerless wordsmith Robert Macfarlane and hand-painted illustrations by Jackie Morris, this enchanting book captures the irreplaceable magic of language and nature for all ages.

Mimic Makers – by Kristen Nordstrom, Paul Boston (Contributor)            

Meet ten mimic makers in this children’s picture book who are learning from the living world. They wonder, ask questions, and gather great ideas from nature. Then they copy these ideas to invent amazing new technology to help people everywhere. A portion of the profits will be donated to the Youth Design Challenge.

Turquoise lake in the mountains
Image credit: Linda Garrett

About Margo Farnsworth

Margo Farnsworth is a Biomimicry fellow and author of Biomimicry and Business: How Companies Are Using Nature’s Strategies to Succeed. If you are interested in having Margo speak to your group on biomimicry, she can be reached at margofarnsworth.com.

Meet the International Voice-Over Readers

Jacques Chirazi (French)

Jacques Chirazi is the Director of the Basement and Blackstone Launchpad at the University of California San Diego. He teaches sustainability, circular economy, design thinking, and clean/climate tech courses to students at the University of California, San Diego Extension. He is a Faculty Associate at the College of Global Futures, Arizona State University. Jacques also worked with the Biomimicry Institute as the Innovation and Commercialization Manager. He helped design and launch the Biomimicry Launchpad and Ray of Hope Prize, an accelerator program designed to help early-stage entrepreneurs bring nature-inspired solutions to market

Francesca Stabile (Italian)

Since she was a child, Francesca’s deep connection with nature, love for animals, and fascination with its diverse wonders have shaped her path. Lately, her passion for surfing has taught her to protect what she loves, forging an even deeper bond with nature. She believes biomimicry offers a powerful avenue for environmental regeneration and is enthusiastic to be an integral part of this transformative movement. In her work, Francesca supports climate tech solutions in Lisbon, Portugal.

Ayşe Meriç Yazıcı (Turkish)

Ayşe Meriç Yazıcı holds a Ph.D. in Business Administration, biomimicry, and space technologies at the Space Humanities research platform, at Lund University, in Sweden. She is a research fellow in astrobiology and biomimicry at Blue Marble Space Institute of Science, Washington D.C. She has published in national and international journals and books in the fields of management and organization, organizational behavior, biomimicry, astrobiology, artificial intelligence, space management, and space technologies.

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Connect with us here at The Resilient Activist for community support and education around the subject of climate change and ecological anxiety.

The Resilient Activist Snailbird Reading for Kids - A magical bird-like creature in bright primary colors reads a book from which a sprout is emerging.
Nature Stories Videos
Why Nature Stories
Other Nature Books
Research on Youth Climate Resilience
Nature-Inspired Activites
Donate to Nature Stories