Before I say anything about this fantastic book, I should start by telling you that Marcie is my neighbor and friend. I've known her for several years and can't say enough about her engaged and intent spirit, generous, caring nature and all around adorableness. And I love her blog! I am so excited for her - for this opportunity to share her authentic point of view and knowledge though her first beautiful book. (I mean, watch that trailer about the book on her site! You'll see!)

The first time I met Marcie, she was with her two daughters. They were collecting materials for a nature craft they would later make together at home. Everyone in our village is accustomed to the site of Marcie and her girls walking through town, stopping to visit with everyone on the way, adding some found treasure to a basket of bits, inspecting a nearly bursting flowering tree branch, spying a new nest up high, sounding out a familiar birdsong. The delight in her everyday life is enthusiastically shared with all of us - something marvelous and inspiring to behold.

I'm honored to be the first stop on her blog book tour kicking off today with the launch of This Book Was A Tree. The full schedule is posted at the end of this post and also on the site. What a great endorsement and line-up of bloggers!

To the book then.

It's like taking that walk with her. Start to finish, Marcie talks the reader through a series of projects, thoughts and inventive ideas to help us explore the natural world we are surrounded by. Consider the everyday events occurring in our yards. Where does the chipmunk scurry to? How does a crow make and use tools? What am I listening for when the world gets very quiet? How can I make the natural world more relevant to my family? Given her background in science and art, she opens the secret door to knowing so much about who we are because we understand the natural world a little better. Dig in, find out!

There are instructions to make a terrarium, a seedbomb (!), a bee coop and a perpetual ecological calendar. Make a nature journal from an upcycled book, turn that old sweater into something pretty and hip. There are suggestions for any number of ways to engage our creative selves. A modern handbook for outdoor and personal adventuring.

For our winter Vermont retreat, Marcie generously made little felting kits and felted pins for each attendee. There was an extra kit with a finished pin which is offered here as a giveaway. Leave a comment about your favorite backyard critter or outdoor discovery. A winner will be chosen and I'll send it out next week.

I hope you get a chance to see the book. Marcie will be on a book tour here in the northeast and the blog tour as well.

“Marcie Cuff makes nature even more fun than the way you find it. This is a book about imagination and creativity—and getting dirty. The projects in This Book Was a Tree remind me of the dozens of ways we can all connect with the natural world on a daily basis. And since Marcie writes from the heart, you can just feel the satisfaction and even joy you’ll get from connecting a little bit more with the world around you. She has ideas that everyone can try alone or with friends or family. She’s going to make a lot of lives simpler, happier, and more plugged in to the world that’s all around us.” —David Yarnold, President and CEO of National Audubon Society

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE:

Week One:

4/1

4/2

4/3

4/4

Week Two:

4/7