As a member of the Z Blog Squad, I was provided by Zondervan with a copy of this book to facilitate my review.  As always, all opinions expressed here are entirely my own.

This standard-size paperback seems to have a primary target audience of tween girls.  It appears to have hit the mark, as my almost-12-year-old enjoyed it.  In fact, the cover caught her eye and she picked it up to flip through as soon as she saw it.

Nature Girl is a great mix of informational content and fun hands-on projects.  Projects vary, but include things like testing the pH of your soil (for gardening), building a solar oven, and creating natural homemade beauty treatments.

Every chapter ends with a fun quiz and brief list of careers related to the chapter’s topic.  (This is great way to introduce girls to a whole range of possibilities in the science field!)

There are chapters about natural beauty, good nutrition (which starts with good soil!), earth/soil, critters, water, air, power, reuse & recycling, outdoor fun, and other ways to get involved.  The information is varied and in small snippets, so it doesn’t get overwhelming or boring.  And it’s nicely interwoven with the fun stuff.

I could nitpick over a few things – like that aerosol cans have nothing to do with the ozone, global warming, etc. so they’re a non-issue from that perspective – but it would be just that: nitpicking.  The vast majority of the content is great, and well-presented for its audience.  I like that it’s hands-on, so it encourages girls to actually get involved, rather than just reading about things.  Most of all, I love that it presents environmental stewardship from a biblical perspective, rather than earth worship from an evolutionary/humanist perspective.

This one’s a win.  (For extra impact, present it as a gift with an item or two related to one of the projects in the book – like a plant pot and gardening gloves.)