This is a selection of an article that originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch’s website. View the entire article here.

Printed words related to the outdoors encompass so much territory that categories such as hunting, fishing, hiking and wildlife watching wrap around the topic in only the most vague and general sense.

Niches galore exist. It’s the niches where the details and lore — and much of the enjoyment — are to be found through the telling.

Ohio writers have explored a fair share of the genre, some as famously as Zane Grey and Lowell Thomas. Depending on what an inquiring mind might want to know, contemporary books by the not-so-famous eclipse much of those earlier works.

Given that Christmas is coming, and guessing some family member of the outdoors persuasion deems reading to be more pleasure than chore, here’s a list of books by Ohio authors that might make worthy gifts:

Get Your Kids Hiking: How To Start Them Young and Keep It Fun. Jeff Alt. 240 pages. Beaufort Books. Exploration comes naturally to youngsters, but learning to enjoy walking distances can take guidance. Alt, a Cincinnati resident who has chronicled his 2,160-mile walk on the Appalachian Trail, knows the stuff parents and other adults need to convey to the kids in their care. What’s more, Alt’s book tells readers how to do what must be done, making them more proficient and prepared hikers to boot.