View source for Outdoor Wonderland by Josie Jeffery

{{infobox2
|title=Outdoor Wonderland
|author=Josie Jeffery 
|reviewer=Sam Tyler
|genre=Children's Non-Fiction
|rating=4.5
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|isbn=9781782400820
|pages=80
|publisher=Ivy Press
|date=March 2014
|aznuk=1782400826
|aznus=1782400826
|cover=1782400826
|website=
|video=
|summary=Time to pack the kids up and send them outside, but what to do?  'Outdoor Wonderland' by Josie Jeffery is a book crammed with ideas for activities for all types of children in all weathers. 
}}
When I was growing up we had ‘Why Don’t You’ to inspire us what to do during the summer holidays, but I still don’t understand why a TV show would encourage me to switch off the telly – how am I meant to know what to do?  A far more sensible guide for outdoor fun is a book like Josie Jeffery’s ‘Outdoor Wonderland’, an informative book full of interesting things to do outside no matter the weather or time of day.

It can be hard to think of new things to do if you have a crafty kid (in that I mean a child who likes the arts and not one who is an artful dodger).  ‘Outdoor Wonderland’ is packed full of ideas; some of them classics that you have probably tried out yourself back in the day, but also many new ideas (at least to me).  The basics such as starting your own vegetable patch are there, but even these have a twist – have you ever tried to use an old backpack to grow food?

It is some of the new ideas that impressed me most.  Creating patterns on clothes using the power of the sun is great.  Perhaps it is raining?  There are ideas here too.  Creating a set of musical instruments that use the drips of rain sounds like messy fun.  There are even activities for children who are slightly less crafty and a little more methodical.  There are eye spy style exercises or tracking the number of creepy crawlies in the garden.  No matter what type of kid you are trying to entertain ‘Outdoor Wonderland’ will have at least a few ideas you can use.

The book itself is a good size and well bound.  Each activity is well presented with clear instructions and on full colour pages.  The illustrations themselves are in a naïve form, but work because they are clear.  Basic imagery can ruin a book like this if the visuals make no sense in terms of scale etc.  In ‘Outdoor Wonderland’ this is not the case as the pictures show exactly what is needed to be done.  Trying to make a water bomb out of a piece of paper is hard enough without rubbish pictures that mean nothing.

I was very much impressed with ‘Outdoor Wonderland’, it encourages children to think about going outside to play and will give an adult ideas they can share with the kids.  The book clearly states if an activity can be done alone, or requires the supervision of an adult.  With a list of links to websites that will allow you to explore further, this is a book that educates whilst still being great fun.

If this book appeals then you might also like [[Flowerpot Farm: A First Gardening Activity Book by Lorraine Harrison]] and [[A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies and Mark Hearld]].

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[[Category:Crafts]]