(Anatomy of a book publishing ninja move, in two parts.)

Part 1. Imprint States Problem. 

Algonquin publishes important, conversation-altering AND policy-changing book about the effects of “nature-deficit disorder” on our children.

Part 2. Imprint Responds with Solutions.*

Workman publishes bible of good-old-fashioned play; sweet, gorgeous book full of outdoor activities for grannies and their green-thumbed visitors; creepily (Bugs) and gorgeously (Butterflies) visual field guides for twee explorers.

*These events are not actually connected and the timeline makes positively no sense. We’re just naturally wholesome.

And we like calling ourselves ninjas.

My daughter, Maddie, and I spent the first weekend of spring in the woods behind our house pretending to be entomologists. I equipped Maddie with both the Bugs Fandex and The Bug Bottle , and together we turned over stones, pulled bark off of dead trees, and combed through rotting leaves unearthing a wide assortment of creepy-crawlies. We even searched our garage, where we previously found Black Widow and Wolf spiders lurking.

Maddie used the Fandex to identify some of her discoveries, and used the Bug Bottle to house them in. With the exception of the couple of ticks that got on us, Maddie has pet names for her adopted critters, and they now reside in the bottle next to her bed.