[] Big Picture Encyclopedia about Animals in Emerald Seas. It's a bit about the province overall, a bit about the important families and their beasts, and a bit about the outdoors and the wild. The pictures are what is important to the kid, and when an adult reads the little informational blurbs they teach the kid that words are special pictures that have meanings and knowledge hidden in themm
That's what made me so smart when young, a love of learning. Big pictures and pretty colors, and someone to read to me about the high level information so I could learn the words and learn to read. Sure, I was a bit weird because I talked like a scientific paper my whole young-youth but I wasn't bullied because I knew that making friends and having a wide social net meant that you outnumbered a bully if they got mean. Just like the herbivore's dominant strategy.
I mean. I was aware I might have to throw hands, most herbivores have horns or tusks or antlers or hooves, but I was just friendly and quiet until I learned how to speak normally instead of science-speak.
I want to make sure it's a gift that's for Biyu, but helps the whole house. Do we know how many of our staff can read? Do we know how much our people know about the province and the families in it? A big picture book lets everyone prosper. Momma and Nanny have an activity that is slower and stiller with Biyu. Momma and Nanny can learn a bit about the province at large and the animals in it. We will eventually be a frontier household, and it'll be good to know. Staff can learn about the province, and potentially how to read. Those that can read already can have more examples of a formal/scientific dialect. And you know what? Learning is *fun* everyone globally values learning and education very highly and a book with pretty pictures and informative words is awesome for everyone. I used to love Zoobooks and discovery documentaries and cool science books with chemicals and explosions and color everywhere.
Learning about Animals was the best though, because animals are wild and active and I got to run around playing as various animals and also learn about them too. They gave me a good appreciation for empathy as well as a non-judgmental approach for being cautious of dangers both social and physical. A matter of fact sort of "yeah they eat other animals, and that's mean. But that's how they live, they have to be mean to live. So here's what you do to not be targeted"
also got me prepared somewhat for knowledge of death and being afraid to die. Sure, maybe I had my first existential crisis a little young but eh. I think I'm a better person because of it.
Nature, Holistic, Colorful, Learning, get to play as animals (I learned that animals sit still when they're being extra observant or extra spooked, which helped me reign in my energy at times), cultural and adventurous/outdoorsy
People associate books with the indoors because those that get stuck in doors have nothing to do but books to read. The best books are read outside in nature. Nothing quite like cracking open some new research with a breeze in your hair, a creek by your side, with a warm fluffy dog to keep watch <3 I want her to attack us every time we visit with new tidbits about an animal and a province or a clan or something. That sounds just so cute ahhh <3 <3 <3
