Slow Down: 50 Mindful Moments in Nature written by Rachel Williams, illustrated by Freya Hartas

Slow Down: 50 Mindful Moments in Nature written by Rachel Williams illustrated by Freya Hartas Review Copy from Magic Cat Publishing / Abrams Kids Enchanting, engaging, essential! Slow Down: 50 Mindful Moments in Nature is one of the most beautiful and captivating books I have read in years. While the premise of this book encourages readers to go outside and notice the natural world (W. H. Davies's poem, "Leisure," at the start of the book begins, "What is this life if, full of care, / We have no time to stand and stare?") the act of reading it is also one of leisurely pleasure. The titles of each moment often read like lines of poetry as, "Dew Collects on a Leaf," a "Sea Star Shuffles Across the Ocean Floor," "Moss Drinks in a Woodland Rain Shower," and "Cherry Blossoms Fall to the Ground." Hartas's illustrations are delicate, the ideal mix of scientifically illustrative and occasionally playfully anthropomorphic