A Resource For Early Childhood Educators

Booklists from our contributors

Additional Information:






References

Honeybees

From Nature Boxes for Early Childhood Educators, Debbi Williams, Story County Conservation Board

A Beekeeper’ s Year.  Sylvia A. Johnson. Little, Brown & Co  Boston, MA.  1994.

 Bees, Wasps, and Ants.  George S. Fichter. Western Publishing  Racine, WI. 1993.

 BugPlay.  Marlene Nachbar Hapai & Leon H. Burton. Addison-Wesley  USA. 1990.

 Bug Wise.  Pamela Hickman. Addison-Wesley  Reading, MA. 1990.

 Honeybees at Home.  Lynne Harwood. Tilbruy House, Gardiner, ME. 1994.

The Bee Tree.  Patricia Polacco. Philomel Books  New York, NY. 1993.

 The Bug Book.    Robin Bernard. Scholastic  New York  NY. 1994.

 The Honeybee and the Robber.  Eric Carle. Philomel Books, New York, NY. 1981.

 The Honey Makers.  Gail Gibbons. William Morrow and Company  New York NY. 1997.

 The Life and Times of the Honeybee.  Charles Micucci.  Ticknor & Fields  New York, NY. 1995.

 The Magic School Bus Inside a Beehive.  Joanna Cole. Scholastic Press, New York, NY. 1996.

 Young Scientists Explore Insects.  Linda Penn. Good Apple Inc,  Carthage IL. 1982.

 Nocturnal Animals

From Nature Boxes for Early Childhood Educators, Debbi Williams, Story County Conservation Board

 Nicholas Cricket.  Joyce Maxner.  Harper and Row  New York, NY.  1989

Nocturnal Animals And Classroom Nights.  Rhonda Vansant & Barbara Dondiego.  McGraw-Hill  New York NY.  1997

Owl Babies.  Martin Waddell.  Candlewick Press  Cambridge, MA.  1975

 Owl Moon.  Jane Yolen. 

 Peeping and Sleeping.  Fran Manushkin.  Clarion  New York, NY.  1994

 Quick & Easy Sewing Projects.  Singer Sewing Reference Library.  Cy DeCosse, Minnetonka, MN.  1993

Stellaluna.  Janell Cannon.  Scholastic  New York, NY.  1993

 Ten Flashing Fireflies.  Philemon Sturges.  North-South Books  New York, NY.  1995

 The Very Lonely Firefly.  Eric Carle.  Philomel Books New York, NY.  1995

 The Very Quiet Cricket.  Eric Carle.  Philomel Books  New York, NY. 

 Wind Says Goodnight.  Katy Rydell.  Houghton Mifflin Co.  New York, NY.  1994

 Pond Habitat

From Nature Boxes for Early Childhood Educators, Debbi Williams, Story County Conservation Board

Beaver At Long Pond.  William George.

 Blue Sea.  Robert Kalan.  Mulberry Books, New York, NY.  1979

 Do The Dragonfly.  Billy B. Romp In The Swamp Music CD

 Heron Street.  Ann Turner.  Harper and Row.  1989

 In The Small, Small Pond.  Denise Fleming.  Scholastic  New York, NY.  1994

It’s Mine!  Leo Lionni.  Scholastic  New York, NY.  1985

 My River.  Shari Halpern.  Scholastic  New York, NY.  1992

 Pond Life.  Barbara Taylor.  Dorling Kindersley, New York, NY. 1992

 Puddles.  Jonathon London.  Penguin Books  New York, NY.  1997

 The Perfect Spot.  Robert J. Blake.  Philomel Books, New York, NY.  1992

 The Rainbow Fish.  Marcus Pfister.  Scholastic, New York, NY.  1992

 Water Dance.  Thomas Locker.  Harcourt Brace & Co.  San Diego, CA.  1997

 Water’s Way.  Lisa Westberg Peters.  Scholastic, New York, NY.  1991

 Prairie Habitat

From Nature Boxes for Early Childhood Educators, Debbi Williams, Story County Conservation Board

 An American Safari.  Jim Branenburg.  Walker and Co  New York, NY.  1995

 Ant Cities.  Arthur Dorres.  Thomas Y. Crowell New York, NY.  1987

 A Snake In The House.  Faith McNulty.

 Copycat.  Mar/Apr 1997

 Copycat.  May/June 1996

 Dancers In The Garden.  Joanne Ryder.  Sierra Club Books  San Francisco, CA.  1992

 Inch By Inch.  Leo Lionni.  Astor-Honor  New York, NY.  1960

 In The Tall, Tall Grass.  Denise Fleming.  Holt and Company  New York, NY.  1991

 Mole’s Hill.  Lois Ehlert.  Harcourt Brace & Co  New York, NY.  1994

 Prairie Animals.  Encyclopedia Britanica.  Chicago, IL.  1979

 Prairie Primer A to Z.  Caroline Stutson.  Dutton’s  New York, NY.  1996

 Prairies.  Dorothy Hinshaw Patent.  Holiday House  New York, NY.  1996

 Rabbit’s Morning.  Nancy Tafuri.  Greenwillow  New York, NY.  1995

 Small Green Snake.  Libba Moore.  Orchard Books  New York, NY.  1994

 The Mailbox  Preschool.  April/May 1997

 The Very Hungry Caterpillar.  Eric Carle.  Philomen Books

 Under The Ground.  Gallimand Jeunesse and Pascale de Bourgoing.  Scholastic  New York, NY.  1990

 Where Butterflies Grow.  Joanne Ryder.  Lodestar Books  New York, NY.  1989

Who Lives OnYThe Prairie?  Ron Hirschi.  G.P. Putnam’s Sons  New York, NY.  1989

Woodland Habitat

Iowa Woodlands.  Iowa Association of Naturalists.  Iowa State University Extension Service.  Publication IAN 202.

Johnny Appleseed.  Steven Kellogg.  Scholastic, New York, NY.  1988

NatureScope Trees Are Terrific.  Ranger Rick.  National Wildlife Federation, Washington, D.C.  1985

One Small Square Woods.  Donald Silver.  W.H. Freeman & Co. New York, NY.  1995

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf.  Lois Ehlert.  Harcourt, Brace & Co, New York, NY.  1991

Secret Forests.  Michael Gaffney.  Western Publishing  Racine, WI.  1994

Squirrels.  Brian Wildsmith.  Scholastic  New York, NY.  1974

The Giving Tree.  Shel Silverstein.  Harper Collins  USA.  1964

The Lorax.  Dr. Suess.  Random House.  1971

The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree.  Gail Gibbons.

 The Usborne Nature Trail Book of Trees and Leaves.  Ingrid Selberg and Margaret Stephens.  Usborne  London, UK.  1977

 Where Once There Was A Wood.  Denise Fleming.  Scholastic  New York, NY. 1996

 Animals

Camouflage

From Nature Boxes for Early Childhood Educators, Debbi Williams, Story County Conservation Board

 A Color of His Own.  Leo Lionni.  Scholastic, New York, NY.  1975

 A House For Hermit Crab.  Eric Carle.  Scholastic, New York, NY.  1987

 Animals In Disguise.  Martine Duprez.  Charlesbridge Publishing, Watertown, MA.  1994

 Animals In Disguise.  Anita Ganeri.  Little Simon, New York, NY.  1995

 Can You Find Me?  Jennifer Dewey.  Scholastic, New York, NY.  1989

 Hard-To-See Animals.  Allan Fowler.  Children’s Press, New York, NY.  1997

 Hidden Animals.  Millicent E. Selsam.  Harper & Row, New York, NY.  1969

 How To Hide A Butterfly.  Ruth Heller.  Grosset & Dunlap, New York, NY.  1992

 How To Hide A Crocodile.  Ruth Heller.  Grosset & Dunlap, New York, NY.  1994

 How To Hide An Octopus.  Ruth Heller.  Grosset & Dunlap, New York, NY.  1992

 How To Hide A Parakeet.  Ruth Heller.  Grosset & Dunlap, New York, NY.  1995

 How To Hide A Polar Bear.  Ruth Heller.  Grosset & Dunlap, New York, NY.  1994

 Secrets Of Animal Survival.  National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C.  1983

 Tricks Animals Play.  Jan Nagel Clarkson.  National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C.  1975

Geology, Composting, Soil

From Nature Boxes for Early Childhood Educators, Debbi Williams, Story County Conservation Board

Ant Cities.  Arthur Dorris.  Harper Collins

 A Worm’s Tale.  Lindgren Barbro.

 Copycat  Volume 12, Number 5.  May/June 1997


Deep Down Underground.  Olivier Dunrea.  McMillan, New York, NY.  1989

Mud.  Wendy Cheyette Lewison.  Random House.

Mud For Sale.  Brenda Nelson.  Houghton Mifflin Co.

Mud Pies.  Judith Grey.  Troll Associates.

One Hundred Hungry Ants.  Elinor J. Pinczes.  Scholastic

The Amazing Dirt Book.  Paulette Bourgeois.  Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA.  1986

The Mailbox Preschool.  April/May 1994

Tops and Bottoms.  Janet Stevens.  Scholastic, New York, NY.  1996

Two Bad Ants.  Chris Van Allsburg.  Houghton Mifflin

Wormology.  Michael Elson Ross.  Carolrhoda Books, Inc, Minneapolis, MN.  1996

 Dinosaurs, Rocks, Fossils

From Nature Boxes for Early Childhood Educators, Debbi Williams, Story County Conservation Board

A First Look At Rocks.  Millicent Selsam.

Dinosaur Discovery book from Brighter Vision Learning Center

Dinosaurs Are Different.  Aliki.  Harper and Row, NY.  1985

Everybody Needs A Rock.  Byrd Baylor.  Charles Scribner’s Son’s, New York, NY.  1974

Fossils Tell of Long Ago.  Aliki.  Harper Collins, New York, NY.  1990

If You Are A Hunter Of Fossils.  Byrd Baylor.  Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, NY.  1980

NatureScope  Digging Into Dinosaurs.  Ranger Rick.  National Wildlife Federation, Washington, D.C.  1992

NatureScope  Geology: The Active Earth.  Ranger Rick. National Wildlife Federation, Washington, D.C.  1992

On My Beach There Are Many Pebbles.  Leo Lionni.

Rocks And Minerals.  Illa Podendorf.  Children’s Press, Chicago, IL.  1982

The Dinosaur Who Lived In My Backyard.  B.G. Hennessy.  Puffin Books, New York, NY.  1988

References from Dorothy Pecaut Nature Center, Woodbury County Conservation Board

Autumn             

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert

Nuts to You by Lois Ehlert   

Time to Sleep by Denise Fleming

Snow                           

When it Starts to Snow by Phillis Gershator

Snowy, Flowy, Blowy by Nancy Tafuri

Birds

Feathers for Lunch by Lois Ehlert

One Duck Stuck by Phyllis Root

Counting is for the Birds by Frank Mazzola Jr.

Birds; A First Discovery Book

The Brave Little Bird by Scott Beck

Unbeatable Beaks by Stephen R. Swinburne)

The Beak Book by Pamela Chanko

From Egg to Robin by Susan Canizares

Penguins          

Little Penguin by Patrick Benson

Puffins Climb, Penguins Rhyme by Bruce McMillan

Busy Penguins by John Schindel

Owls                   

Owl Babies by Martin Waddell

Whoo-oo is it? By Megan McDonald     

Night Creatures; A First Discovery Book

Turkeys            

Wild Turkey Run by Bob Reese

In November by Cynthia Rylant

Turtles                        

The Very Shy Turtle by Kathy Pfautsch

The Foolish Tortoise by Richard Buckley

Turtles and Snails; A First Discovery Book

Flowers             

I’m a Seed by Jean Marzollo

The Surprise Garden by Zoe Hall

Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert

Moon                          

Moon Rope by Lois Ehlert

The Owl who Became the Moon by Jonathon London

What the Moon Sees, What the Sun Sees by Nancy Tafuri

Deer                   

Deer at the Brook by Jim Arnosky

Once Upon a Springtime by Jean Marzollo

The Stranger in the Woods by Carl R. Sams II & Jean Stoick        

Footprints                  

Footprints in the Snow by Cynthia Benjamin

Footprints and Shadows by Anne Wescott Dodd

Animal Tracks by Arthur Dorros       

Frogs                          

Jump Frog Jump by Robert Kaplan

Froggy Gets Dressed by Jonathon London

Hungry Harry by Joanne Partis

Tadpole to Frog Pop-up by Scholastic

Caterpillars                

Waiting for Wings by Lois Ehlert

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Butterflies by Karen Shapiro

Spiders             

I Am A Little Spider by Marta Prims & Nuria Roca

Wolves              

The Eyes of Gray Wolf by Jonathan London

An Adventure with Winnie Wolf by Maurice Pledger


Polar Bears                

Touch the Sky, My Little Bear by David Bedford & Jane Chapman

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What do you Hear? by Bill Martin Jr.

A Polar Bear Can Swim by Harriet Ziefert

References from Polk County Conservation Board

Amphibians

Animals to Eggs, Nonie Cox, 1993.

Frog Odyssey by Juliet & Charles Snape

The Caterpillar and the Polliwog by Jack Kent

The Salamander Room by Anne Mazer

Autumn

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf   by Lois Ehlert

 “How The Turtle Flew South For The Winter”   Keepers of the Earth, Joseph Bruchac and Michael J. Caduto, (page 157)

Bugs to Bunnies: Hands-on Animal Science Activities for Young Children by Kenn Goin, Eleanor Ripp & Kathleen Nastasi Solomon

Bats

Stellaluna by Janell Cannon

Bats Creatures of the Night by Joyce Milton

Tuttle, Merlin D. America’s Neighborhood Bats. 1988.

Cornell, Joseph.  Sharing Nature With Children. 1979.

Laubach, Christyna M., John Bowles and Rene Laubach. A Guide to the Bats of Iowa. 1988. 

Beavers

“Whither the Winter of Turtle and Beaver”, Keepers of the Animals by Michael J. Caddied and Joseph Bruchac

The Kids’ Wildlife Book by Warner Shedd

Bees

The Honeybee and the Robber by Eric Carle

The Reason for a Flower by Ruth Heller

Julivert, Angels.  The Fascinating World Of Bees. 1991.

Morse, Roger.  A Year in the Bee Yard: An Expert’s Month-by-Month Instructions for Successful Beekeeping. 1983.

Style, Sue.  Honey, from Hive to Honeypot: A Celebration of Bees and Their Bounty. 1993.

Melzer, Werner.  Beekeeping: A Complete Owner’s Manual. 1989.

Trump, Richard.  Bees and Their Keepers. 1987.

Vansant, Rhonda and Barbara L. Dondiego.  Moths, Butterflies, Other Insects, and Spiders.1995.

Birds

Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

Butterflies, Monarchs

Lasky, Kathryn.  Monarchs.  1993.

Ranger Rick’s NatureScope.  Incredible Insects.  1984.

Camping

Going on a Bear Hunt! (A good action book for the kids!)

Buzzy Bear goes camping by Dorothy Marino

Sam and Violet go camping by Nicole Rubel

Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs Are Different By Aliki

Dinosaur Roar by Paul and Henrietta Stickland

Digging Up Dinosaurs By Aliki (Ages 4-8)

The Dino Expert By Julie Brillhart

Big Old Bones, A Dinosaur Tale By Carol Carrick

Sammy And The Dinosaurs By Bernard Most

Dinosaur Babies By Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld

Insects

Are you a Ladybug? By Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries

BUGS! by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack (A Rookie Reader)

Hey, Little Ant by Phillip & Hannah Hoose

The Icky Bug Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta

It’s a Good Thing There are Insects by Allan Fowler (A Rookie Reader)

The Very Grouch Ladybug by Eric Carle

The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

The Very Quiet Cricket  by Eric Carle

Ladybugs – Teacher's guide – Pre-K to 1st, by Lawerence Hall of Science University of California, ISBN 0-912511-86-9

Mammals

The Chipmunk Song by Joanne Ryder

The Mitten by Jan Brett

Nuts to You by Lois Ehlert

Squirrels by Brian Wildsmith

Why Possum Has a Naked Tail (pg 173) from Keepers of the Animals, by Michael Caduto and Joseph Bruchac

Mother Opossum and Her Babies, Science and Math Activities for Young Children, University of California at Berkeley. ISBN 0-924886-21-8

Kid’s Wildlife Book by Warner Shedd ISBN 0-913589-77-2

Nature’s Treasures

The Picnic, An Ecology Story Book, by Chris Baines

Ponds

In the Small, Small Pond by Denise Fleming

Rainbows

A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman

Skyfire by Frank Asch

Reptiles

Box Turtle at Long Pond by William T. George and Lindsay Barrett George

Bugs to Bunnies, Hands-on Animal Science Activities for Young Children

Little Green Snake

Box Turtle at Long Pond by Lindsay Barrett George

Seeds

The Reason for a Flower by Ruth Heller or

The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle

Sunflower House by Eve Bunting

Trees (see also Autumn)

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Stars

Stargazing Sky by Deborah Kogan Ray

The Night Book by Pamela Hickman

Worms

Wonderful Worms by Linda Glaser

 

 

 

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Educational Resources

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