# From Tiny Bugs to Great Meadows: Early American Children Learn About the Natural World

Two examples from the Rare Book and Special Collections Division describe how early American children could learn about nature from engaging printed sources. “The History of Insects,” published in 1813, is a very small book that describes tiny creatures with detailed illustrations and engaging text. “Wallis’s New Dissected Map of N. America, engraved from the latest authorities for the use of Young Students in Geography,” printed in 1794, is a puzzle map. Putting together the map teaches the child about the larger natural world around them, including rivers, mountains, and plains. Both the book and the map entertain a child while broadening their view of the natural world.

- Kind: Talk
- Year: 2026
- Runtime: 4 min
- By: Coleburn, Jackie
- Genres: Children's
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/video-11746/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Kids profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/video-11746?play=1)