I am a mom that loves getting my family outdoors. I am a former Girl Scout, my two oldest daughters are Girl Scouts and I am actually the troop leader for each of their troops. Both of our troops are very much into camping, hiking and the outdoors. A fabulous book to introduce kids to hiking before they actually go is Ranger Rick Kids’ Guide to Hiking: All You Need to Know About Having Fun While Hiking by Helen Olsson.
Ranger Rick Kids? Guide to Hiking shows you everything you need to know to have the most amazing hiking experiences! The book includes a real working compass that will help you find your way.
Hiking is more than just a walk in the woods. Every outing is an adventure, and you never know what a hike will bring. By reading this book, you?ll learn where to go to hike, when to go, what to wear, and what to bring with you. You?ll also learn how to take care of nature and how to stay safe while on the trail. But best of all, this book shows you how you can have the most fun while hiking.
For some kids, hiking itself might be adventure enough. But you can also bring along a nature journal or create land art. Bring a special hiking buddy with you?one who knows lots of good jokes, riddles, and games to pass the time. You can hike with your pooch, and believe it or not, you can even hike with llamas!
The more you know about hiking, the more fun you can have on your adventures. So read the tips in this book at home before you go, and then head for the great outdoors and use the compass to help you find your way. Happy hiking!
Helen Olsson is a freelance writer and editor, and the author of The Down & Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids. She is the former editor-in-chief of Vail Resorts? Epic Life magazine and former executive editor at Skiing magazine. Her stories have appeared in The New York Times, 5280, Elevation Outdoors, Squaw Magazine, Ski Magazine, and at pbs.org. Olsson has hiked all over the world, from the Annapurna Circuit in Nepal and The Great Wall of China to Colorado’s Fourteeners and the Appalachian Trail. She blogs about hiking and other outdoor adventures with kids at maddogmom.com. Olsson lives in Boulder, Colo., with her husband, Jeff, and their three children, Quinn, Aidan, and Anya. They hike regularly as a family in the Colorado Rockies. Olsson has made it a mission to get her kids unplugged and connected to nature.
Ranger Rick Kids’ Guide to Hiking includes great photographs, useful tips and enough information to get any kid interested in this fun sport! I am a stickler for safety so I was especially pleased to see a whole chapter dedicated to staying safe while hiking. My girls want to hike all the time and now they help pick out appropriate outfits and help pack our day packs based on the knowledge they gained from reading this book. My girls and I have already read this copy several times so I am going to donate it to our Girl Scout house which has its own library where Girl Scouts share books. This way other Girl Scouts can get interested in hiking too! This is a must read for scouts before they start trekking on the trails!
Connect: You can connect with Quarto Knows on Facebook, Pinterest and @QuartoKnows on Twitter.
