The Case of the Wooden Timekeeper

K-Gr 3–Two new titles that celebrate nature, curiosity, discovery, and mindfulness. Written by the husband and wife team who created the award-winning television series “Gumboot Kids,” these books feature boy and girl mice from the television show, Scout and Daisy. In each story, the mice spend time outdoors either together or alone (in one story they are having a picnic while in the other Scout is stacking wood), and then they challenge each other to solve a mystery involving nature by providing three clues. In Bird Feeder, Daisy tells Scout that she needs to head home “to water my bird feeders so that they grow tall and stay healthy,” and in Timekeeper, Scout makes an interesting discovery about tree rings. After solving each mystery, the mice have a mindful moment in nature, breathing deeply, and pretending to be either a tree or a sunflower. The stories end with the mice visiting the library to learn more about the nature subject they investigated. The back pages have a Field Notes section (with additional information about sunflowers and trees) and a Nature Craft that is tied to the story (birdseed ornaments and pinecone friends). The felted wool mice and their miniature world are adorable and will invite children to savor the tiny details.