And don't forget children's songs and stories on tape, of which there are plenty. However, though there are loads of printed books suitable for older kids, I had trouble finding many nature audio books for that age group. The exception was outdoor-adventure stories with teenage heroes and heroines, like Call It Courage by Armstrong Sperry, in which a Polynesian boy, branded a coward, faces the sea alone and becomes a man. Julie of the Wolves, by Jean Craighead George, is the unforgettable story of a young girl alone on the Alaskan tundra. A suspenseful contemporary tale is Will Hobbs' Downriver, in which teenagers must battle themselves as well as the raging Colorado River.
Adults have more choices in nature books on tape.
More subdued but equally fascinating is Pulitzer Prize-winner Edward O. Wilson's autobiography, Naturalist, in which he traces his obsession with insects from his lonely childhood in the South to worldwide travels and acclaim. In the print book Biophilia, Wilson presents his fascinating theory that human beings need to be connected to other living things as much as they need shelter and nourishment. When we are denied access to nature, he claims, we are as hungry as when deprived of food. Her flawlessly structured essays on bats, corn, water, wolves and other living things from her Chickasaw heritage literally soar off the page. After you read this one, you can't travel even 10 minutes out of downtown Asheville without invoking Camuto's intoxicating imagery.