FRESHWATER LIFE. - 1 85028 294 3

BUTTERFLIES OF GREAT BRITAIN AND EUROPE. By Susan McKeever. - 1 85028 293 5.

SALTWATER LIFE. By Leslie Jackman. - 1 85028 295 1.

DRAGON’S WORLD. Pounds 7.95 each. Age range 8 - 12

David Jobbins looks at a series of guides to discovering nature on our doorsteps. Children are fascinated by the creatures which they encounter in their immediate surroundings and this can be used to awaken their concern for the environment and to build the basis of a long-term interest in science.

These four guides, the latest in a series endorsed by Wildlife Watch, the junior section of the county wildlife trusts, promise young people an interesting, absorbing and authoritative introduction to their natural environment. Each title has some 80 pages crammed with projects, guides to identification and suggestions for finding out more. Aimed at eight to 12-year-olds, the series engages young people when their curiosity about their surroundings is at its peak. Three of the titles are of value in both urban and rural areas.

Only Saltwater Life lacks that immediate accessibility for the majority of children whose only contact with the sea is an annual holiday.

Birds of Great Britain and Europe has illustrations and descriptions of 170 species categorised by the habitats where they are likely to be found. Each bird painting is accompanied by a few lines of text describing favoured habitat, feeding and breeding. Each is assigned to its family group, its size is given in centimetres and graphically, its call depicted phonetically and status is outlined with British readers in mind.

There are few obvious omissions from the described species, but Red-backed Shrike should have a note stating that it is not the regularly-encountered farmland bird implied by the text (in Britain at least).

Butterflies follows a similar pattern, assigning species to a range of habitats, again describing and illustrating 170 of the 400 species to be found in Britain and Europe. In this case there is advice on raising and keeping butterflies in the school or home, with the need to provide the right food plant for the caterpillars properly underlined - a key lesson in the relationship between animals and their environment.

Children are intrigued by the commonest water-creatures and Freshwater Life and Saltwater Life describe accurately and clearly what can be expected in a range of habitats from a village pond to the open sea.

Guidance is given on safety when pond-dipping and on setting up an aquarium. Collecting frog-spawn or tadpoles in spring is as much a part of childhood as conkers in autumn, and Freshwater Life gives valuable advice on how to increase the survival rate. Returning the froglets to the pond where the spawn was collected is emphasised, vital in the light of a declining frog population.

A marine aquarium is a much more complex project, but suggestions are given for keeping some of the commoner fish in an aerated environment.