The bright, close-cut photos of this book give the impression of lively content. In reality, this thin craft book for young children is a collection of unexciting projects, many of which have a tenuous relationship with nature, despite the title’s claim. For example, the “Old Time Writing” project consists of assembling a decorated cardboard, play-clay, and glass ink stand with a clay holder for a feather. Writing with the feather – the feather being the nature portion of the project – is not explored. “Pressed Leaves” shows how to make a book to press leaves in. It seems absurd to go to the trouble of cutting, pasting, and taping when you can simply pop leaves into an old phone book. Again, what to do with the pressed leaves, the “nature” ingredient, is not dealt with.

The design is rambling, with old fashioned devices such as red wavy type being used for headlines. At times, the design is confusing, since the finished projects tend to blend into the instructions instead of being showcased separately. With the exception of two crafts, the book doesn’t deal with nature in an interactive manner (such as making wildlife feeders), or involve a child in his of her surroundings.

While all of Mary Wallace’s “original” crafts have a feeling of trying-really-hard-to-come-up-with-something-to-do-with-nature, she does much better with more traditional nature crafts. “Grass Whistles,” “Dandelion Loops,” and “Corn Husk Dolls” are projects that children worldwide have passed down to brothers, sisters, and friends – crafts to be made outside on a warm day, passing time during a long summer. More crafts of this type, both traditional and new, such as a daisy chain, ant farm, bird call, leaf picture, bird feeder, a simple moss or vine basket, or a squirrel feeder are just a few ideas that may have rounded out this book and fulfilled the promise of its cover.