Digital Downloads
Gentle Gardening: A low-energy guide for uncooperative bodies
Yes, you can garden too! Even if you’re short on resources, or energy, or time. Even if you live with chronic illness, pain, disability, brain fog, sensory issues, or low mobility.
In Gentle Gardening, I share the techniques, tips, and mindset shifts that have kept me joyfully gardening through years of illness, pain, and procedures. Whether you yearn to grow roses or radishes, discover how to tend a garden that will nurture YOU in return.
Click the title to view an excerpt.
Seeds Undaunted Seed Pouches
I designed these downloadable seed pouches out of a desire to celebrate the quietly subversive act of saving seeds. In a global reality where a small number of companies would like to control the way we grow and access food, saving seeds is not just practical and satisfying; it’s an act of resistance, and a […]
Contact me if you have any questions about your digital downloads.
Traditionally Published Books
- 2021 Northern Lights Book Awards Winner – Nature Category
- Publishers Weekly Environmental Kids’ Books for 2021 selection
- 2021 Kirkus Reviews “Great Books on the Outdoors for Curious Kids” selection
- 2021 Kirkus Reviews “Celebrate Canada Day With These Children’s Books” selection
- 2021 CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens Fall Selection
- 2021 Bound2Learn Nonfiction Hot List selection
★ “The detailed text and varied images immerse readers in the feeling of being outside, fully attentive and relaxed….The illustrations use soft coloring, varied perspectives, and active characters to great effect, pulling observers into the worlds of plants, animals, and the people who love them. This lovely book is more than the sum of its parts.”—Kirkus ★ Starred Review
Buy Outside, You Notice on Pajama Press’ website
Outside, You Notice is published by Pajama Press.
Hello, I’m Erin Alladin. On the internet, I write to adults who want to apply regenerative agriculture on a home scale. In real life, I work with children’s books—and this is one I’ve written. Outside, You Notice is a nonfiction celebration of kids’ inborn ability to see the world as a naturalist does, noticing all the tiny details and then asking, “Why?”
Outside,
you notice things.
Time spent in the outdoors stirs a child’s imagination. Nature sparks wonder, wonder leads to curiosity, and curiosity brings about a greater knowledge of the world and one’s self. In Outside, You Notice, a meditative thread of child-like observations (How after the rain / Everything smells greener) is paired with facts about the habits and habitats of animals, insects, birds, and plants (A tree’s roots reach as wide as its branches).
Author Erin Alladin invites young scientists and daydreamers to look closely and think deeply in this lyrical nonfiction text, celebrating all the kinds of “outside” that are available to children, from backyards to city parks to cracks in the sidewalk. Illustrator Andrea Blinick portrays these spaces bursting with small wonders with a child’s-eye view, her naïve and nostalgic style capturing the joy of endless discovery.
Praise for Outside, You Notice
★ “The detailed text and varied images immerse readers in the feeling of being outside, fully attentive and relaxed….The illustrations use soft coloring, varied perspectives, and active characters to great effect, pulling observers into the worlds of plants, animals, and the people who love them. This lovely book is more than the sum of its parts.”—Kirkus ★ Starred Review
“As this blend of fiction and nonfiction emphasizes observation, it also leads up to a mindfulness of being present when outside….A charming, gentle nudge to go outside and simply be.”—Booklist
“Blinick’s illustrations offer a sense of excitement and serenity, showing cheerful children with light and dark skin tones and different physical abilities….This exploration of the outdoors is fit to use for budding biologists.”—School Library Journal
“We rated this book: [4.5/5]…This is a thoughtful, reflective story about the healing power of spending time outdoors….This light-hearted, relatable, and timely text will bring youth new enlightenments each time they sift through its pages.”—Seattle Book Review
“Readers of Outside, You Notice are left with wonder and appreciation for the things that surround them. The result is a warm, joyful and inviting environment that awaits us all. If anyone ever doubted the benefits of spending quality time outdoors, this lovely book will dispel that notion….Highly Recommended.”—Canadian Review of Materials
“Rating: 4.5…This is a lovely book about the joy of discovering nature in the outdoors….Friendly-feeling gouache, pencil and chalk art with collage shows a warm, accessible natural world to investigate….I like that readers can just read the main text for the youngest listeners, and can add the informational details for older listeners.”—Youth Services Book Review