I really felt that this was a nice intro to foraging for families. It's a basic and intro-level book, so if you already know the basics it might not be the right fit for you, but for those families just venturing into foraging, it's perfect. Good descriptions and inspiring photographs makes this one a great addition to my bookshelf.

There’s a fantastic new book that focuses on foraging with kids. Family Foraging: A Fun Guide to Gathering and Eating Wild Plants was released last month and it’s my new favorite book on foraging with kids.

The book, by David Hamilton, features 30 commonly found wild edible plants of North America. The plants covered in the book are:

Nettles, dandelions, wild garlic, goosefoot (lambsquarters), chickweed, spearmint, garlic mustard, plantain, wild cherry, elder, bilberry, marsh samphire, common sorrel, giant puffball, wild radish, woodland strawberry, wild plum, blackberry, apple, rose, hawthorn, raspberry, beech, sep, hazelnut, sweet chestnut, staghorn sumac, wood sorrel, sea beet, birch.
Photo courtesy Roost Books

The plants are divided by season — spring, summer, fall and winter (3 plants).

Each plant is pictured with a close up photograph (sometimes), a well drawn illustration, description of all the parts of the plant, a picture of what parts of the world it grows wild in, text about what to avoid (plants that might seem similar and how to know it’s not your plant), notes about where to find it, info on how to eat it, and a recipe.

The publisher says:

The ultimate family-friendly guide to foraging with kids.

Children are natural foragers — they love to get outside and search for hidden treasures. And once they get the foraging bug, there’s no turning back. Before you know it, they’ll be asking where they can find the sweetest summer berries or the best wild apple trees.

This fun handbook includes information on finding 30 of the most commonly found wild plants in North America. You can find most of the plants in your nearest forest, park, and sometimes, even in your own backyard. In addition to identification information, the book includes clear instructions on how to best prepare these delicious wild foods with kid-friendly recipes like Puffball Kebabs, Chocolate Hazelnut Spread, and Wild Raspberry Muffins.

I noticed that the maps were not always accurate. For instance, several plants that we regularly forage here in Minnesota were not shown as growing in our area. The maps are just small images of the world with the countries and parts of countries where they supposedly grow wild shown in one color. Still, they are helpful and I’ve never seen world maps for foraging info before (though the USDA North America maps are widely used.)

The author is British, but the book is focused on North America. It appears that there is a similar book with a different cover that is sold in the UK. I don’t know if the plants covered are the same or not. The book struck me as British as I was reading it (for instance, we tend to say ramps instead of wild garlic and lambs quarters instead of goosefoot, and we don’t tend to use terms like hedgerows). I’m not sure how much experience the author has actually foraging here in the states, though he seems quite experienced foraging in the UK. That said, as someone who does forage here in the U.S., the book seemed quite accurate to me.

The book is very reasonably priced and I plan to buy a copy for our home foraging library. It’s well suited for beginning foragers and also for families who already do a lot of foraging but are looking for some new plants to discover together.

You can find the book on Amazon here: Family Foraging: A Fun Guide to Gathering and Eating Wild Plants and it should also be available at your local bookstore and through the library.

Highly recommended.

Family Foraging is an interesting book designed to encourage families to get outdoors together and forage for edible plants. It is clearly written and has good advice on how to make sure of your identification. It would make an excellent addition to any family bookshelf.

I love books about edible and useful plants and this one is no exception. It covers plants found both in the UK and the USA, so it can be used on either continent. I did wish that it had more photos included and covered more species. But it’s a great book to get you started on your foraging journey. You can learn more after you master the skills in this book.

I always advise that you make thoroughly certain of your identification before trying any wild plants. Some out there do have poisonous look-alikes, as indicated in this book. The author does a good job of pointing this out. If there is one change I’d wish for in this book it would be a section showing the poisonous plants you are likely to find, so that you can avoid them.

If you stick with the safer plants, which are easier to identify and are less likely to have poisonous look-alikes, you should have tons of fun out there foraging as a family. That’s what I like about this book – that it emphasizes those types of plants. It’s a good way to get outdoors together and learn more about nature. If you want to get your kids away from screens and indoor games, take them outside and try foraging. Take this book with you. You will be glad you did. It’s even got recipes that look absolutely delicious!

This would be a fun library addition to any outdoorsy or hiking family, interested in learning something new about their surroundings. I love picking berries that I can easily identify but beyond the basics I am completely clueless to correctly identify anything growing alongside our hiking trail or near or campsite.
This book gives some illustrations, photos and even recipes for plants and berries discussed in the book.
Thank you to Roost Books and NetGalley for this family ARC, in exchange for my honest review. My opinions are my own.

Family Foraging by David Hamilton is an exceptional and very comprehensive book of foraging throughout the year. This is something that I've wanted to try, but didn't know where to start. This book includes tons of beautiful color photos, and some illustrations for each plant or foraging idea, and they include recipes on how to use the items that you've gathered. Another great resource is the what to look out for warning tips to make sure you don't gather harmful items.

This book is clearly set out and interesting. It’s perfect for those who wish to start foraging and using more nature foods. The nettle pesto in particular is delicious. This is a book that will be referred to year after year,
I found it excellent and highly recommend it, if there’s one criticism it’s that I’d have liked it to be longer.