By Jane Drake & Ann Love, Illustrated by Heather Collins
Kids Can Press, $16.95, 176 pages

Sisters Jane Drake and Ann Love prove that fun does not require batteries in their book Get Outside: The Kids Guide to Fun in the Great Outdoors. Suitable for a one-child family or a football team’s worth of siblings, the book is well-written, with clear and easy-to-understand instructions for all the activities. The activities are organized by season for year-round outdoor pleasure. For the inevitable bad weather days, the authors have included a sub-section for each season of indoor games and activities, though how seasonal some of the ideas are is debatable.

This is not a flashy book; there are no photos or graphics. The illustrations are black and white sketches, giving the book the look of a traditional, old-fashioned field guide. Activities are suitable for children of all ages (teenagers may be forced to take part when they see how much fun everyone else is having) but some aspects of certain activities require adult supervision or help, depending on the child’s age. From the sports enthusiast to the nature-lover to the science geek, this book has ideas that will get them all outside.

Reviewed by Andrea Klein

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