Mrs Owl’s Forest School: The Wet Welly Day – at a glance
The School Reading Lists’ five word review: worms, snails, frogs, mud pies.
Children’s book title: The Wet Welly Day.
Children’s author: Ruth Symons.
Children’s illustrator: Sebastien Braun.
Genre: Children’s picture book, Forest School.
Published by: Templar Books.
ISBN: 9781800786134.
Recommended for children aged: 2-7 year-olds.
First published: Paperback January 2025.
This children’s book is ideal for: forest school and outdoor activity ideas.
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Our review:
Worms, snails, frogs, rainbows, and chocolatey mud pies! In The Wet Welly Day, the animal characters attend Mrs Owl’s forest class. When it starts to rain, they are disappointed, thinking they won’t be able to play. But Mrs Owl has other ideas – and she’s come prepared with wet weather gear.
Mrs Owl’s Forest School: The Wet Welly Day features bright, colourful, and well-illustrated characters. The scenes are packed with bugs, puddles, and more – perfect for younger children who will enjoy pointing out worms, snails, and frogs. The day out is jam-packed with forest school and outdoor activity ideas. The little notebook sections at the bottom of each page invite readers to explore their environment mindfully, with suggestions for using all their senses.
Educational themes are gently woven throughout, including rainbows, the importance of rain for plants, and changing weather. The story also offers social and emotional learning opportunities, with a strong ‘can-do’ attitude. For example:
“There’s no such thing as bad weather—just the wrong clothes!”
Mrs Owl always looks for the positives in every situation. The characters are relatable to real childhood experiences – for instance, Fox gets overexcited, splashes Mouse, doesn’t apologise properly, and upsets Rabbit. But he eventually realises what he’s done, says sorry, and makes amends. It’s lovely that Mrs Owl points out that everyone needs a little of Fox’s enthusiasm, showing resilience and encouraging appreciation of each other’s quirks.
When everyone starts to feel a bit chilly, a final game warms them up, followed by a hot, toasty drink. This is a wholesome story about having fun outdoors, packed with creative ideas and opportunities to learn about nature along the way – for example, making a mud hedgehog. Many of the suggested activities can also be adapted for home use, even if you can’t get out into the countryside.
This book is ideal for children aged 2–8 and would be a great addition to homes, nurseries, schools, and of course, forest schools. A must-have for libraries and for encouraging children to get outdoors, play, and explore.
Many thanks to Templar Books for the review copy.
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