Vivid autumnal leaves, animals scurrying about their natural habitats, and the breathtaking expanse of the ocean — nothing beats the sights and sounds of nature. The great outdoors isn’t just beautiful, it’s also good for our health, with many studies showing cognitive and emotional benefits to spending time in nature.
While the best way to enjoy the natural world is to get outside and experience it first-hand, sometimes it’s nice to curl up with novels about nature — stories that remind us of the sheer majesty and daunting power of the earth’s wonders.
The best fiction books about nature include a wide variety of options, from classics for all ages like Hatchet by Gary Paulsen to riveting mysteries like Force of Nature by Jane Harper. And, considering the alarmingly detrimental effects of climate change on nature, I’ve also included books that offer poignant reminders of how important it is to acknowledge and respect the planet, like The Overstory — a Pulitzer Prize winner by Richard Powers.
With topics from bees to trees, these stories put nature on full display — and what an awesome display it is.
1. Barkskins by Annie Proulx
Proulx, a Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author, crafts an illustrative story that is considered one of the best novels about nature in recent history. Barkskins inspired a 2020 limited series on National Geographic.
It all begins when Rene, an illiterate woodsman, lands in Canada at a time when the wild North was being tamed by colonists. Rene appreciates nature, and the novel follows his descendants, as well as the descendants of the people he worked for, as the wilds of Canada set the stage for an amazing two centuries’ worth of drama based around the land and what comes from it.
2. The Overstory by Richard Powers
Take a long walk through the luscious forest that is this masterful novel about nature from Powers. The story follows the parallel narratives of a cast of characters who are each called to defend one of America's few still-pristine stretches of forest. Their unique journeys are ultimately a metaphor for the interconnectedness of everything and everyone on Earth.
Powers’ beautiful writing captivates; more than that, it inspires: “She sees it in one great glimpse of flashing gold: trees and humans, at war over the land and water and atmosphere. And she can hear, louder than the quaking leaves, which side will lose by winning.”
3. Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver
Novelist Kingsolver, who won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2023 for Demon Copperhead, is an author every outdoor lover should explore. Her repertoire includes both fiction and nonfiction books either about or heavily featuring nature, from Flight Behavior to Small Wonder and beyond.
Prodigal Summer unfolds over one tension-fueled summer in Appalachia, where neighbors, lovers, and family members clash over various ecological issues — from organic farming to ethical hunting. All of their livelihoods depend on nature in some way or other, highlighting the complex struggle faced by those whose choices negatively impact the environment that sustains them.
4. This Tender Land by William Kent Krueger
Set at the height of the Great Depression, This Tender Land follows four young Native American orphans traveling the Mississippi River after escaping an assimilation school. They meet other drifters along the way, and the river itself plays an important role.
Like all of Krueger’s bestselling books, this novel beautifully depicts the natural environment. I would also recommend the author’s Cork O’Connor Mysteries if you enjoy immersive nature settings.
5. The Bear by Andrew Krivak
In a post-apocalyptic future where nature prevails and humankind is all but extinct, a man teaches his daughter everything he knows so she can survive independently. After his death, she must put these lessons to use, while learning still more from an animal companion.
Krivak, who wrote the National Book Award finalist The Sojourn, reveals the enduring power of nature and its inherent harmony in this poetic, contemplative, and award-winning fable.
6. Two Old Women by Velma Wallis
Facing a brutal winter famine and quickly dwindling food supplies, a Gwichʼin chief makes a gut-wrenching decision: The tribe must leave the elderly behind. Two old women left to fend for themselves in the harsh environment vow to survive at all costs and, in doing so, rediscover their inner strength and determination.
This short and deceptively simple novel by Wallis — who is of Gwich'in Athabascan Indian descent — is inspired by Native folktales passed down by the author’s mother.
7. Damnation Spring by Ash Davidson
Residents of a small forest town in northern California believe an herbicide is poisoning the community. Tensions escalate, with environmentalists and local loggers at odds. But this conflict plays out on a smaller, more intimate scale: Rich and Colleen, a married couple struggling with infertility, are on opposing sides of the dispute.
Davidson crafts an authentic, deeply affecting story of family and community that’s also a cautionary tale about deforestation.
8. The History of Bees by Maja Lunde
Bees are an important part of our ecological past, present, and future, and this literary novel follows three generations of beekeepers as they contend with global environmental crises and family dramas.
In The History of Bees, which moves between 1852, 2007, and 2098, Lunde simultaneously reveals the complex expectations and feelings that play out between parents and children, and the slow but devastating effects of climate change on honeybees — and the humans that rely upon them.
9. Where the Forest Meets the Stars by Glendy Vanderah
Vanderah brings together two unlikely strangers as they struggle to help a mysterious child. The protagonist, Joanna Teale, is living in a small cabin in the woods, focusing on her research on nesting birds, when she stumbles upon a young girl in search of miracles. To try to get the girl back to her parents, Joanna involves her equally hermit-like neighbor, Gabriel Nash.
Where the Forest Meets the Stars is a beautiful display of magical realism while incorporating the actual wonders and miracles of the natural world. It’s a touching audiobook to listen to while out on long walks in the woods. The author’s other nature-driven works, The Light Through the Leaves and The Oceanography of the Moon, are equally compelling.
10. Sins of the Bees by Annie Lampman
This fascinating literary thriller is perfect for fans of Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. The novel focuses on arborist Silvania — who has no friends other than her collection of bonsai trees — as she rediscovers her own roots. She begins to trace her grandmother’s early years as a beekeeper to her time in a fanatical doomsday cult, and realizes that her grandmother may still be alive and can be rescued.
The bonsai trees weave their way into this story, and Lampman’s descriptions of the canyons and wilds where the cult lives are captivating.
11. Force of Nature by Jane Harper
Nature can be harsh, and people can be as well. Harper explores the connection between the two in this thriller.
Five colleagues embark on a wilderness corporate retreat, but only four of the women return from their long hike. Meanwhile, federal police agent Aaron Falk (first introduced in Harper’s The Dry) begins to search for the missing woman, and discovers secrets deep within the forest.
12. A Black Fox Running by Brian Carter
If you loved Watership Down, you’ll love A Black Fox Running. The struggle between the fox and a trapper in the winter of 1947 is a vivid, thrilling tale.
This book is about so much more than sentient animals: Its portrayal of the natural world will leave you longing to get outside. Plus, it’s a great read-aloud book for the whole family.
13. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
You may have read this book in school — the story of a young girl and her brother who were accidentally left alone on an island — and you may remember shedding a tear or two at some of the tougher moments. Though it’s a classic children’s novel, Island of the Blue Dolphins’ vivid descriptions of nature (which both endangers and saves the main character) resonate across all ages.
14. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
Hatchet — a Newbery Honor winner — is another young reader classic, and one that I couldn’t put down in grade school.
This fictional survival story tracks 13-year-old Brian after his plane crashes. Alone in the Canadian wilderness, Brian’s only survival tool is (you guessed it) a hatchet, but he slowly learns to navigate the landscape around him, all while hoping for rescue.
15. A Stone Sat Still by Brendan Wenzel
If you’re trying to instill a love of nature into your young kids, A Stone Sat Still is an adorable picture book that shares the story of … a stone. Caldecott Honor-winning Wenzel illustrates an adorable exploration of the natural world and a story of how everything is connected. A stone isn’t just a stone; for many animals, it can be so much more.
