Hancock author Susie Spikol launched her newest book, “Forest Magic for Kids: How to Find Fairies, Make a Secret Fort and Cook Up and Elfin Picnic,” with a reading Tuesday night at the Harris Center for Conservation Education. 

“I have a true confession. I did not fall in love with nature through science,” Spikol told the overflow crowd. “It wasn’t a spark that lit my imagination. It was through fairy tales,  imagination and play that the doors of nature were opened for me, and I would hazard a guess that this is true for many of you in the audience. It was actually reading stories and hearing folktales from my mom that sent me outside.” 

Spikol cites children’s literature such as “Winnie the Pooh”  by A.A. Milne, “The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame, “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis, “Charlotte’s Web,” by E.B. White and  “The Hobbit” by J.R.R. Tolkien  with inspiring her lifelong fascination with nature.

“Books like these became my field guide to nature. If you want to find an adventure – like taking a journey in a giant peach, or find out a spider can be your true best friend – then you have to go outside and look for them,” Spikol said. 

Spikol grew up in Brooklyn “before it was cool.” She remembers seeking out nature in cracks in the sidewalk or abandoned spaces. 

“I was very fortunate that my parents, who were both teachers, had a house in Vermont,” Spikol said. “That started my love for New England.”

Spikol, who has been an naturalist and educator with the Harris Center for over 30 years, has introduced numerous Monadnock region children to the wonders of nature. “Forest Magic” is a guide to engaging children in nature by inspiring their imaginations.

“My love of story and that enchantment with nature is at the core of what I do; it is with me every time I go outside with kids, and every time I teach children and adults that nature is enchanting, that the stories of the natural world truly are remarkable, and that they go way beyond simple fact,” she said.

Spikol, a mother of three,  said one reason she wrote “Forest Magic” is because of the changes she has seen in the way children are growing up and developing over the past 30 years. 

“We need this now more than ever,” Spikol said. “Kids today are growing up in a very different world from the one we grew up in. When they engage on the screen, it is not the same as engaging in the real world. It’s one-dimensional; it’s flat, and it doesn’t engage all the senses. It’s limited by whatever the creator of the game decides.”

Spikol will be at Toadstool Books in Peterborough on Saturday, April 5, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and will be at Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord on Saturday, April 12, to speak about “Forest Magic.” 

Later this year, Spikol will release a third book, “The Book of Fairies,” which will be a companion book for “Forest Magic.” 

Spikol is also the author of the award-winning “Animal Adventurer’s Guide,” which was illustrated by Becca Hall. 

“Forest Magic” is illustrated by Renia Metallinou and published by Gibbs Smith. The book contains stories,  activities and projects for children ages 5 to 9. The hardcover edition is available  at Toadstool Books, Bookshop.org, Barnes & Noble and other online retailers. For information, go to susiespikol.com/books/forest-magic-for-kids.