Column: 9 kids books about nature to read right now Lauren Daley I wrote last week on observing the beauty around us. This week, I want to bring that lens to kids’ books. I was lucky enough, growing up in SouthCoast in the ‘80s and ‘90s, to have plenty of woods and fields to play in, and stacks of real books to read at home. Maybe you were this lucky, too. But it’s easy for a generation born with a tablet and endless scrolling at tiny fingertips to forget (or never learn) the thrill of playing outside. And to never appreciate leafing through a real paper book if a grownup — aunt, older cousin, grandparent — doesn’t sit to read one with them.