Wild Ideas: Let Nature Inspire Your Thinking. Written by Elin Kelsey, with artwork by Soyeon Kim. Owlkids, 2015. $18.95 ages 5 and up

"All around you,
creatures seek solutions.

Pigeons procrastinate.
Bees calculate.
Elephants innovate.
Bears keep count.

When orangutans feel
puzzled, they stop and
think."

I wonder if you remember You Are Stardust, 2012. If you read it at the time, I am sure that you can see some of its beautiful dioramas in your head. In this second book, Elin Kelsey returns to science to help us think deeper.

She begins by explaining how difficult problems can be for those facing them. Facing them can, at times, result in the most remarkable discoveries. We don't have to look far to see how animals have adapted to their environment, and achieved more that any person might have thought possible. For us to make such discoveries, we just have to be willing to open our eyes to possibilities and to look closely so that we miss nothing.

"Step outside.
Look.
If squirrels can learn to cross roads
   by watching people,
      what can you learn by watching squirrels?"

There is much to see, and consider if you will just allow yourself to look with clear, bright eyes. Young readers are encouraged, in mindful lovely language, to look and learn from those around them, to use their imaginations, to see if they find solutions to some difficult problems. There is so much to see and to appreciate when you give yourself over to discovery.

The fascinating and exquisite dioramas constructed by Soyeon Kim have amazing textures that are sure to have all readers wanting to return to this book's pages to savor the details, the imaginative scenes, the variety in media. The cool green endpapers are festooned with sketches of the animals and their problem solving abilities.

Read it once, then twice, and then whenever you seek inspiration and beauty.

Wondrous!

Please check this site: www.owlkidsbooks.com/wildideas