Baby raccoons are smaller than a bar of soap. Salmon smell through little pits in the front of their eyes. Facts like those are the whole strategy of this book, and they work: a child who learns one goes looking for the next, outdoors, which is exactly where the author wants them.

Fiona Cohen organizes the Pacific Northwest by habitat rather than by taxonomy, which is how a child actually encounters it. Forest, beach, fresh water, and backyards and urban parks. Each section covers the flora, fauna and natural phenomena a curious kid can genuinely find in that place, from banana slugs and licorice fern to aggregating anemones and rough skinned newts.

Marni Fylling contributes 100 full color illustrations that are scientifically accurate rather than cartooned, so the book doubles as a working identification guide on a real walk. The ecology is woven through the facts instead of bolted on at the end.

For a family living anywhere between Oregon and British Columbia, this is the book that turns a soggy Saturday walk into a hunt. Hardcover, sturdy enough for a backpack, and endlessly re readable.