New books- "The Secret of Play" & "Sustainable Gardens"

The Library regularly receives new books. This week we have received “The Secret of Play: how to raise bright, healthy, caring children from birth to age 12.” by Ann Pleshette Murphy. Drawing on the latest research on brain development, social-emotional growth, and learning, “The Secret of Play” lays out a blueprint for play, from the first months of life through to the pre-teen years. “The Secret of Play” provides information about the value of play at each age and stage. It aims to show readers which ideas, toys, and games are developmentally appropriate.

Published by Dorling Kindersley (DK), it has their trademark book design; clear, concise and colourful. This is the kind of book you’ll enjoy dipping into and browsing, and it is positive and inspirational. DK have a video of the author talking about "The Secret of Play" on their website.

We have also received “Sustainable Gardens” by Rob Cross and Roger Spencer, published by CSIRO Publishing. The authors are botanists from the Royal Botanic Gardens in Melbourne, and this book is like a textbook on how to develop sustainable gardens. Did you know that Australians have the sixth largest individual Ecological Footprint (6.6 gha/person), three times the global average of 2.2 gha/person.

The book says this high figure can be attributed to the fact that we live in large houses with few occupants, use a large number of goods and services and travel long distances, depending heavily on fossil fuels (52% of the footprint) for our energy needs.

“Sustainable Gardens” looks at our consumption of resources and the effect this has on our environment. It shows how we can use sustainable gardening to bring a balance between humans and the environment we depend on. The chapter on designing low impact gardens is useful and interesting. It examines all kinds of materials used in landscaping and weighs up which ones are best in terms of protecting the environment. To find out more, you can listen to a recent interview of the authors of this book by Greg Muller, ABC radio Bush Telegraph reporter, at the website .
We hope you enjoy whatever you are reading this week.