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Backpack Explorer: City Walk: What Will You Find?
Take a walk in the city and look for nature on sidewalks, behind park benches, and high up in the park trees in this newest addition to the best-selling Backpack Explorer series.
Discover nature in the city with this fun, interactive nature activity book for kids aged 4 to 8. Search and find birds, wildflowers, leaves, trees, squirrels, and more in urban areas, from green parks to apartment rooftops to parking lots.
Photo field guides help kids identify plants, trees, animals, and flowers. Hands-on nature crafts and outdoor games Scavenger hunts and STEAM experiments Provides hours of learning fun and outdoor time in a format kids can bring along on every nature adventure.
This publication conforms to the EPUB Accessibility specification at WCAG 2.0 Level AA.
Discover nature in the city with this fun, interactive nature activity book for kids aged 4 to 8. Search and find birds, wildflowers, leaves, trees, squirrels, and more in urban areas, from green parks to apartment rooftops to parking lots.
Photo field guides help kids identify plants, trees, animals, and flowers. Hands-on nature crafts and outdoor games Scavenger hunts and STEAM experiments Provides hours of learning fun and outdoor time in a format kids can bring along on every nature adventure.
This publication conforms to the EPUB Accessibility specification at WCAG 2.0 Level AA.
48 pages, Hardcover
Published March 17, 2026
5 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Book Review: Backpack Explorer: City Walk: What Will You Find? by Editors of Storey Publishing
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I just finished Backpack Explorer: City Walk: What Will You Find? and honestly, it’s such a gem! The book invites kids (ages 4 to 8) to take a closer look at the nature hiding all around us in urban spots—whether on sidewalks, tucked behind park benches, or high up in trees. It’s like a little adventure right in the middle of the city!
What I really love about this book is how it’s more than just reading—it's super interactive. There’s a real magnifying glass included (how cool is that?), plus colorful stickers, a pull-out log for kids to jot down their findings, and tons of photo guides to help identify birds, flowers, leaves, squirrels, and trees. It even has fun crafts, outdoor games, scavenger hunts, and STEAM experiments sprinkled throughout, which is such a great way to keep kids engaged.
The cover itself caught my eye instantly—bright, cheerful, and inviting. This book perfectly blends learning with play, showing kids that exploring nature in the city can be both educational and a blast. I can totally see this being a go-to resource for homeschooling families or teachers wanting to bring nature studies to life. Plus, parents would find it incredibly handy for keeping kids curious and entertained outdoors.
One of my favorite touches? The stickers to mark completed pages or activities—it’s such a simple idea but so motivating! Honestly, each activity feels like a mini adventure waiting to happen in any urban setting.
If you’re looking for a charming, hands-on way to get kids excited about nature right outside your door, this book is a winner. Five stars all the way!
⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️
Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
I just finished Backpack Explorer: City Walk: What Will You Find? and honestly, it’s such a gem! The book invites kids (ages 4 to 8) to take a closer look at the nature hiding all around us in urban spots—whether on sidewalks, tucked behind park benches, or high up in trees. It’s like a little adventure right in the middle of the city!
What I really love about this book is how it’s more than just reading—it's super interactive. There’s a real magnifying glass included (how cool is that?), plus colorful stickers, a pull-out log for kids to jot down their findings, and tons of photo guides to help identify birds, flowers, leaves, squirrels, and trees. It even has fun crafts, outdoor games, scavenger hunts, and STEAM experiments sprinkled throughout, which is such a great way to keep kids engaged.
The cover itself caught my eye instantly—bright, cheerful, and inviting. This book perfectly blends learning with play, showing kids that exploring nature in the city can be both educational and a blast. I can totally see this being a go-to resource for homeschooling families or teachers wanting to bring nature studies to life. Plus, parents would find it incredibly handy for keeping kids curious and entertained outdoors.
One of my favorite touches? The stickers to mark completed pages or activities—it’s such a simple idea but so motivating! Honestly, each activity feels like a mini adventure waiting to happen in any urban setting.
If you’re looking for a charming, hands-on way to get kids excited about nature right outside your door, this book is a winner. Five stars all the way!
⚠️This review was written based on personal opinions and experiences with the book. Individual preferences may vary⚠️
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
Storey Publishing's Backpack Explorer series generally take readers outside to look at rocks, trees, or the night sky, but this edition is devoted to a variety of natural items that can be found in an urban setting. There are great tips for using the book and noticing the world through sight and sound. Starting with a variety of plants that might grow in sidewalks, this continues with some ideas for drawing with chalk art; always a popular past time!
Other natural elements include birds, street tress, squirrels, and water. I love that there are art activities scattered throughout the book to go along with each item. There are pages with room for a sticker to mark certain things that the reader has seen, like a food cart, wall mural, and a fountain. The corresponding stickers are in the back of the book. There are also some thematic check lists.
I especially appreciated some of the side notes on healthy duck snacks (NOT bread!), the pictorial dictionary of animal scat, and information about city clean up.
There are also stickers for a "Day of Discovery", including things like a person laughing, someone playing the guitar, birds, sunglasses, and flowers. Along with these pages is room for writing what one loves about the city, making this a great memory journal.
Don't miss the tiny pocket in the front of the book that includes a small Fresnel lens magnifying glass! I have to admit to being enthralled with the tiny pocket, and spent more time than I should have using the magnifying glass to look at items in the book! This would be a great book to give to a child who lives in a city, or who is visiting one on a vacation.
Storey Publishing's Backpack Explorer series generally take readers outside to look at rocks, trees, or the night sky, but this edition is devoted to a variety of natural items that can be found in an urban setting. There are great tips for using the book and noticing the world through sight and sound. Starting with a variety of plants that might grow in sidewalks, this continues with some ideas for drawing with chalk art; always a popular past time!
Other natural elements include birds, street tress, squirrels, and water. I love that there are art activities scattered throughout the book to go along with each item. There are pages with room for a sticker to mark certain things that the reader has seen, like a food cart, wall mural, and a fountain. The corresponding stickers are in the back of the book. There are also some thematic check lists.
I especially appreciated some of the side notes on healthy duck snacks (NOT bread!), the pictorial dictionary of animal scat, and information about city clean up.
There are also stickers for a "Day of Discovery", including things like a person laughing, someone playing the guitar, birds, sunglasses, and flowers. Along with these pages is room for writing what one loves about the city, making this a great memory journal.
Don't miss the tiny pocket in the front of the book that includes a small Fresnel lens magnifying glass! I have to admit to being enthralled with the tiny pocket, and spent more time than I should have using the magnifying glass to look at items in the book! This would be a great book to give to a child who lives in a city, or who is visiting one on a vacation.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Review to be added to Amazon UK and US on 17 March 2026 - publication day!
I thought that this was a fun book to read overall but I did have a concern (see the end of my review)
The book was well written and it was easy to read and understand. The illustrations in the book were great, they were nice, bright and colourful and they brought the book to life.
My daughter enjoyed the book and we are going to do some of the activities when we next go out for the day - all apart from the awful suggestion for children to Chase a Pigeon - please don't that is honestly an awful suggestion to put in the book!!
It is 4 stars from me for this one - highly recommended, would have been 5 stars if the Pigeon suggestion wasn't included as this can cause them to feel stressed and frightened - I always tell my daughter not to do it and the book encourages it - quite disappointing and something that should not be encouraged if you do really love and admire the natural world
I thought that this was a fun book to read overall but I did have a concern (see the end of my review)
The book was well written and it was easy to read and understand. The illustrations in the book were great, they were nice, bright and colourful and they brought the book to life.
My daughter enjoyed the book and we are going to do some of the activities when we next go out for the day - all apart from the awful suggestion for children to Chase a Pigeon - please don't that is honestly an awful suggestion to put in the book!!
It is 4 stars from me for this one - highly recommended, would have been 5 stars if the Pigeon suggestion wasn't included as this can cause them to feel stressed and frightened - I always tell my daughter not to do it and the book encourages it - quite disappointing and something that should not be encouraged if you do really love and admire the natural world
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is a SERIES?! How exciting, I could see how this book would be especially helpful for kids who live in the city who may not *necesarily* view a walk through the city as exciting. I mean it's not exactly a hike in the forest, right? And yet, this book teaches kids to stop, look, listen, SMELL...basically, asking kids to try to be mindful. With images of flowers, animals, plants, and other things they may actually see but probably overlook, and activities that encourage kids to pay attention to their surroundings, this book is perfect to be just what it claims to be: a book kids can carry in their backpack and reference as they explore!
Thank you to NetGalley for this free, advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to NetGalley for this free, advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
November 10, 2025
Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Book Group | Storey Publishing for the ARC! It will be published on March 17, 2026. I loved this hands-on activity book. It gives you interactive activities of what you could do. Then it gives you the directions for how to do the activity. This could be for a children to do alone or adult/child bonding experience. It shows that being in nature can be fun even as you are learning/reading. A suggestion for the publishing company could be to have all of the materials bundeled with the books as a set for a fair price. Overall, this is a book I would definitely use in my classroom while doing our insects/gardening studies!
November 18, 2025
What a fun book! I want to be more active with my three year old and sometimes you do not have a lot of ideas on how to do it. This book seems like a fabulous resource. I can see this being a good book for parents, grandparents, babysitters or nannies. I loved that there is stickers to mark that you completed a page or activity. The activities seemed fun. I could see that each activity or prompt could be its own adventure in the city.
I saw this book is part of a series, and can't wait to check out the rest of the books in the series.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book.
I saw this book is part of a series, and can't wait to check out the rest of the books in the series.
Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book.
November 24, 2025
What a fun, interactive, informative book. I loved it. Great for grandparents who have the time to spend with their grandchildren. It would also be great for parents to do some of these activities on weekends. Teachers could use some of these ideas for their recess times. I would even suggest it for adults (like myself) who spend way too much time indoors. I highly recommend this book.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews