Sometimes feeling motivated to get our kids outside can be a challenge. Maybe it’s the weather, an illness, a new baby, our schedule, or our mood. During times like this, because it happens to even the outdoorsiest of parents, reach out for support and grab hold of a trusty book to help boost your motivation.
Below I’ve listed of 30+ books sure to inspire and motivate parents wanting to get outside with their kids whatever the weather.
Want to add a book to this list? Contact me and let me know what book I should add!
Disclaimer: This page contains Amazon Affiliates links and I may earn a small commission from your purchases made through them.
Post updated September 2022.
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Books on the Importance of Outdoor Play and Adventure for Kids
- Balanced and Barefoot: How Unrestricted Outdoor Play Makes for Strong, Confident, and Capable Children by Angela Hanscom
- Home Grown: Adventures in Parenting off the Beaten Path, Unschooling, and Reconnecting with the Natural World by Ben Hewitt
- Free to Learn: Why Unleashing the Instinct to Play Will Make Our Children Happier, More Self-Reliant, and Better Students for Life by Peter Gray
- Free-Range Kids, How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts with Worry) by Lenore Skenazy
- Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv
- Outdoor Kids in an Inside World: Getting Your Family Out of the House and Radically Engaged with Nature by Steven Rinella
Books on How Nature Makes Kids Healthier and Happier
- Let Them Eat Dirt: Saving Your Child from an Oversanitized World by Dr Marie-Claire Arrieta and Dr B Brett Finlay
- The Green Hour: A Daily Dose of Nature for Happier, Healthier, Smarter Kids by Todd Christopher
- There’s No Such Thing as Bad Weather: A Scandinavian Mom’s Secrets for Raising Healthy, Resilient, and Confident Kids by Linda Åkeson McGurk
- UNPLUGGED: 15 Steps to Disconnect from Technology and Reconnect with Nature, Yourself, Friends, and Family by Jason Runkel Sperling
- Your Brain On Nature by Eva M. Selhub
- Vitamin N: The Essential Guide to a Nature-Rich Life by Richard Louv
Books on Outdoor Education and Activities for Kids and Families
- 101 Things For Kids To Do Outside by Dawn Isaac
- Beyond Ecophobia: Reclaiming the Heart in Nature Education by David Sobel
- Fifteen Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids by Rebecca Cohen
- Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health and Happiness by Dr. Qing Li
- How to Raise a Wild Child: The Art and Science of Falling in Love with Nature by Scott Sampson
- I Love Dirt!: 52 Activities to Help You and Your Kids Discover the Wonders of Nature by Jennifer Ward
- Mud Kitchen in a Day: How to Quickly Get Your Kids Outside, Playing in the Dirt, & Enjoying Creative Play by Jason Runkel Sperling
- Rainy Day Kids Adventure Book: Outdoor games and activities for the wind, rain and snow by Steph Scott and Katie Akers
- Sharing Nature with Children by Joseph Cornell
- The Backyard Play Revolution: How to Engage Kids in Simple, Inexpensive Outdoor Play and Increase Child Health and Motor/Sensory Development by Jason Runkel Sperling
- The Down and Dirty Guide to Camping with Kids: How to Plan Memorable Family Adventures and Connect Kids to Nature by Helen Olsson
- The Lost Art of Reading Nature’s Signs: Use Outdoor Clues to Find Your Way, Predict the Weather, Locate Water, Track Animals—and Other Forgotten Skills by Tristan Gooley
- The Nature Connection: An Outdoor Workbook for Kids, Families, and Classrooms by Clare Walker Leslie
- Whatever the Weather: Science Experiments and Art Activities That Explore the Wonders of Weather by Annie Riechmann and Dawn Suzette Smith
Books on Family Outdoor Adventures
- Babes in the Woods by Jennifer Aist
- Before They’re Gone: A Family’s Year-Long Quest to Explore America’s Most Endangered National Parks by Michael Lanza
- Hike It Baby: 100 Awesome Outdoor Adventures with Babies and Toddlers by Shanti Hodges
- Let Them Be Eaten By Bears: A Fearless Guide to Taking Our Kids Into the Great Outdoors by Peter Brown Hoffmeister
- The Backpacking With Kids Handbook: Your down and dirty guide to fun outdoor adventures with your kids by Kenda Alexander
- Up: A Mother and Daughter’s Peakbagging Adventure by Patricia Ellis Herr
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2 comments
I wish this site had been open when I needed it the most for teaching. It is available now and I will endeavour to spread it amongst my teaching colleagues.
Work at nature school in Sweden. We are taking out 3.500 kids for one day nature program.
Ser pur Homepage http://www.nynashamnsnaturskola.se we are writing books hos can you learn biologi and mathmatics outside.