The Hike

by Alison Farrell

This book tells the story of three girls' friendship—and their tribulations and triumphs in the great outdoors. Here is the best and worst of any hike: from picnics to puffing and panting, deer-sighting to detours. Featuring a glossary, a sketchbook by one of the characters, abundant labels throughout, and scientific backmatter.

Genres: Picture Books, Nature, Childrens, Science, Adventure, Friendship, Animals

56 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2019

Reviews

[Janet Bruins · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the first things you notice is that all the text is hand-lettered—a choice that’s surprisingly rare in today’s picture books. Hand-lettering means the story had to be fully copyedited during the sketch phase, because any later text changes become incredibly difficult once the art is finalized. It’s a bold production decision, and it pays off beautifully.

I also love how the book weaves in the character’s sketchbook. Those pages feel almost like a kid-friendly field guide—part story, part “how-to” manual for hiking. It makes the whole reading experience both immersive and inspiring, especially for young adventurers who want to head outside and explore.

A thoughtful, art-driven book that celebrates creativity and the great outdoors.

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the sense of adventure and discovery as the children explore the flora and fauna of the woods and mountains on a hike. The text is fairly sparse, but the illustrations have lots of detail and many of the plants and animals are labeled. It's very accessible, a fun, cartoony vibe while also having fairly realistic illustrations. If your children like this sort of thing, see if your local library has the wonderful board game WILDCRAFT! which teaches edible plants and healing herbs :-)

[Karinn · Rating 5 out of 5]

My 2 year old loves this book. She requests it daily. Last weekend we took a hike as a family and she loved spotting some of the same things in the book like snowberries, chipmunks, banana slugs, etc. The illustrations are excellent. I feel like we discover new things every time we read it.

[Paige Benzing · Rating 5 out of 5]

any book with morels gets 5 stars in the Benzing household! LOVE the nature journal inspiration of this whole book

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great illustrations

[Amy Layton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally, a book with no parents!  There's nobody telling them to be safe, nobody that they return to, nobody worrying about them at home.  The Hike is an attestation to kids' independence.  And rightfully so!  These kids go out and about and take note of all the flora and fauna, get lost and get found again, and find excitement as they reach the summit.  With beautiful green illustrations and a labels detailing what certain animals and plants are, this makes for a fantastic blend of fiction and non-fiction.  Included in the back is a sketchbook of many of the fantastic things they saw on their hike, with funny commentary (as a sketchbook should have) as well as further information on some of the sights.  This is a great book for nature-loving children and perfect for children who want to convince their parents to let them be more independent!  Perfect for PreK-2.

Review cross-listed here!

[Angela De Groot · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful book that works on multiple levels - can’t help but get swept along with these young explorers, share in their joy and wonder. Beautiful art with well placed labels draws readers in and identifies what is discovered and enjoyed on this hike. Back matter includes More Notes From Wren’s Sketchbook. Makes you want to hit the trail and find all these amazing plants and animals yourself or with some friends.

[Mother Goose Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three friends plan and take a hike along the way, readers experience the hike by exploring the illustrations that contain labeled natural items. Readers are also treated to peeks inside one of the girl’s nature journals. Sweet and engaging, this picture book will have readers wanting to take a nature hike.

[KC · Rating 5 out of 5]

I throughly enjoyed this detailed story of three friends and a dog who documented their hike.

[Alice Ball · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hope a whole troop of young people find inspiration from this book to head to the woods and explore! A great intertwining of the arts and the sciences.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three girls go on a hike. A celebration of nature. I kept wondering where their parents were.

[Cortnee · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations and post-modern elements throughout this story definitely add to the story’s engagement and excitement. It was interesting to see the graphic novel-like speech bubbles combined with the layering of the illustrations like a notebook. Throughout the story there are notes and comments layers over the action like an observation journal. There are also mes-en-abymes sprinkled throughout the illustrations of the character’s own observation notebooks!
As someone that lives in an area that has mountains and hiking trails, I felt this story accurately described and represented those adventures. It didn’t seem strange to me that there were children going on their own hiking adventure without adults. The girls run into a variety of plants and animals with authentic interactions such as the birds and the deer. Additionally, there are many elements and interactions between plants and animals happening around the girls which is realistic when hiking because you never know what is really going on around you! The full page spreads draw the reader in like they are accompanying the girls on their adventure.
I also appreciated the diversity of the characters within the story. Each girl within the story appears to be of a different racial background without one girl taking center stage as the main character.
The final pages of this story allow the reader to tell their one ending as the girls return home to their house with constellations and stars being seen in the night sky. This is likely a comment on the rurality of the girl’s home, because they can see the night sky without the interference of city lights.
Overall, this book does a great job of highlighting the beauty and positivity of living in a rural setting. There is no deficit model thinking to be found within this book to suggest living in the city could outweigh this mountainous area.

[Mathew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Set within the Pacific Northwest of America, The Hike introduces us to a trio of girls and their dog as they partake in their favourite pastime: walking forest paths and exploring the local wildlife. The three girls, at ease in their environment, take with them their sketch-pads, binoculars and map. They are inquisitive, asking questions about tracks and leaves and they’re careful to observe alone rather than pick up and touch.
Throughout the pages, Farrell herself gently intrudes by labeling animals and plants so that the reader might be more aware of the surroundings than the girls themselves. Mainly consisting of double-page spreads, this is a delightful trek through the semi-tamed wild and one that might ignite a similar passion in its own readers. Please can we have something like this set in the UK?

[Frankie S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love being outside! This book was a great reminder that there is so much to see and do outside. I liked comparing the pictures to things I have seen on hikes and what other things I could look for. Maybe I will take notes or draw pictures like these girls did of things they saw. "The Hike" shows us that beauty is all around us when in nature and we should never stop taking the time to look and appreciate.

[Erendira · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one was chock-full of nature study for young ones, told in a sweet narrative about friends taking a hike through the woods. They stumble upon amazing specimens of nature, living creatures, and are clever to identify them in their nature journals. I am always thrilled by books of this kind because they go above and beyond what typical authors believe children are interested in.

[Christine (Tina) · Rating 5 out of 5]

My grandgirl & I thought these 3 girls were sisters :)

So much going on on each page, names of animals, different elements of nature, plants, as 3 girls take a hike in the woods.

The leader of the 3 keeps a nature journal during the hike. This fascinated the little one, especially at the end of the story when the entire journal is revealed.

Great read for anyone who loves nature!

[Anna Kim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book for several reasons:

1. I'm a hiker
2. It's charming
3. It captures the joy of being outdoors
4. The plants and wildlife are labeled and there is a little guidebook of what the characters observed at the end
5. The characters are BIPOC or ethnically ambiguous, which is incredibly important and we need greater representation of BIPOC stories taking place in nature

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A darling picture book about the adventures found in nature when you go hiking. There are so many animals and plants labeled in the book that you can read it over and over again and discover something new each time.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a lovingly illustrated picture book. It might be hard to read to really little kids because of all the plant and animal names, etc., that are on the page, but I could see it inspiring an elementary school student to become passionate about and investigate nature.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

We adore this book. 💚💚💚💚💚
Just like hiking a real trail with kiddos, this book doesn't move along swiftly from beginning to end. Plan to slow down and really explore the pages. There are plenty of plants, and critters, and other fun discoveries, all illustrated and labeled with cheerful charm. A great way to prepare your children for a walk through the woods. (And yourself - I finally learned proper names for many native plants.) Perfect for the PNW. My 4 year old loves it. ☺

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's hard to find a flaw in this one. Super cute and chockablock full of fun info.

[Christie Angleton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kids will love poring over all the tiny details.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it while hiking in Brewster, MA and it was a really fun addition to the trail. Lots of detail in the pictures and interesting information about nature.

[Lily Riley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Hike is a good fall book for beginners.

[Teresa Biggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of one hike w 3 children and a dog Interwoven through the story is all the things one can see in a hike if one is observant—,from banana slugs to types of birds to wildflowers. It also talks about a map and a picnic and getting to the top of the mountain
Illustrations were great

[Laurel]

We xg

[Connie T. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three young female explorers (sisters?) set out for a day hike in the mountains. Here and there we catch glimpses into Wren's sketchbook but really, the whole story is like a field guide in that most of the items (animals, plants, spider webs, etc) that the girls encounter are labeled for the reader. These details, combined with speech bubbles, text and beautiful artwork invite the reader to join Wren, El, and Hattie on their adventure.

[Tina Hoggatt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this robust story of three friends and their dog on a hike up a mountain. This book earns its nonfiction check from me for the wealth of observations from the natural world, flora and fauna encountered along the way and recorded in one of the hiker's notebooks. The characters are all distinct, their hike adventurous but never scary, and the independence of these three girls in nature is a lovely model. The author's illustrations charm and are just right. One for all the nature loving kids in your life.

[Baladine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this picture book. The end paper perfectly fit the book and wasn't just a generic solid color for once, the illustrations were beautiful, plenty of opportunity for dialogic reading with kids. I don't think it would be a particularly good Storytime book but great in a smaller setting with just a handful to really let the kids ask questions about all the different animals and plants that are shown. The plot is cute with three friends going on a hike in the forest and getting turned around, they eventually find their way and make it back safely.

[Courtenay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great sketches. My biggest complaint about this story and why I couldn't give it four stars (LOVED all the nature from birds to ferns to types of trees) is three young girls - in a picture book, no less -- hiking on their own with a dog and no parent? I've gotten such slack for putting a TWELVE-YEAR-OLD out in my fictitious world with a dog and no parent; this just feels a tad on the irresponsible side (as obviously these kids are out all. day. long -- returning when the stars are out -- even if I suspend all disbelief...)