Extreme Nature!
Q & A series
Harper Collins, 2006
grades 1 to 3, ISBN 978-0060899363

A blue whale is extremely big—as long as two school buses placed end to end. The stout infantfish is extremely small—as small as the eraser on a pencil. A peregrine falcon is extremely fast—it can dive at 200 miles per hour. A sloth is extremely slow—it might take three hours to move one mile. But the biggest, the smallest, the fastest, the slowest, and every other living creature on Earth need to find food, stay safe, and raise young. Extreme Nature! lets you in on some of the amazing ways plants and animals accomplish these goals.

Giraffe Graphs
Rookie Read-About Math series
Children’s Press/Scholastic, 2006
grades K to 3, ISBN 978-0516237985

Using everyone’s favorite animals as a starting point, this book explains basic graphic concepts to young readers. Fun photos and illustrations add to the book’s appeal.

How Do Birds Fly? (ISBN 978-0761421108)
How Do Fish Breathe? (ISBN 978-0761421092)
How Do Plants Grow? (ISBN 978-0761421115)
Why Do the Seasons Change? (ISBN 978-0761421122)
Tell Me Why, Tell Me How series
Benchmark Books, 2006
grades 3 and Up

Young children are brimming with questions about the processes and events they observe at work around them every day. This series addresses the often mysterious phenomena of the natural world and the amazing behaviors and abilities of plants and animals. In simple, age-appropriate, easy-to-understand language, each book takes young readers on a journey of scientific discovery—from the formulation of a simple question to the revelation of the sometimes simple, sometimes startling, explanation.

A Place for Butterflies
illustrated by Higgins Bond
Peachtree Publishers, 2006
ages 4 to 8, ISBN 978-1561453573

“Eye-catching and informative . . . Stewart describes the niche butterflies fill as pollinators and their importance in complex food chains, and offers tips on helping these fragile flut­terers continue to decorate our landscapes. Bond’s realistic acrylics keep colorful step, placing the starred butterflies and their caterpillars in their preferred locations.”

—School Library Journal

Curriculum Guide available

Awards
Izaak Walton League of America Conservation Book of the Year

Sloths
Lerner, 2005
grades 3 to 6, ISBN 978-1575055770

“The well-composed text traces [sloths’] evolution from prehistoric progenitors to the current day. . . With its well-captioned, full-color photos on every page and informative text, Sloths offers enough information for solid reports and general interest.”

—School Library Journal

Melissa observed sloths and other rain forest creatures during a recent visit to Costa Rica with her husband’s family. Her 7-year-old niece, Iris, was fascinated by a baby sloth that clung to its upside-down mother, hour after hour.

Get a Grip: How Your Hand Really Works
SmartLab Series
becker & mayer, Ltd. 2005
ages 4 to 8, ISBN 978-1-932855-26-5

This fun, fact-filled novelty book comes packaged with the SmartLab Skeletal Hand set, which kids can assemble themselves. The last few pages of the book contain instructions for assembling the model.

Meet the Beetles (ISBN 978-1-4007-4570-8)
Treating Earth’s Trouble Spots
(ISBN 978-1-4007-4446-6)
Reading Quest series
Newbridge Publishing, 2005
grades 5 to 7

"These are exactly the kind of books I need in my classroom. They bridge an important gap by including interesting, cutting-edge science in books that can really help my students develop their reading skills."

—Sixth grade teacher, Hudson, MA

Air Is Everywhere (ISBN 978-0756506384)
Animals All Around (ISBN 978-0756505943)
Down to Earth (ISBN 978-0756505950)
Fun with the Sun (ISBN 978-075650593)
A Parade of Plants (ISBN 978-075650592)
Use Your Senses (ISBN 978-0756506360)
What’s the Weather? (ISBN 978-0756506391)
The Wonders of Water (ISBN 978-0756506377)
Investigate Science series
Compass Point Books, 2004
grades 1 to 3

“I recommend the Investigate Science series because of the author’s constructivist approach. The books set the stage for beginning readers to actively use inquiry skills within their science content. Author Melissa Stewart places a premium on blending reading and science inquiry skills. The kid-friendly text invites the reader to observe using all five senses, gather data, organize data, and make charts and drawings to describe what they observed. Based on the observations and data, the reader predicts outcomes to the “Doing More” activities within the book. The science content is accurate and age appropriate . . . This is what learning and teaching elementary science should be!”

—NSTA Website

Awards
Science Books & Films Best Books for Children, 2004; National Science Teachers Association Recommended Titles

Claws and Jaws: T. rex and Velociraptor
SmartLab series, becker & mayer, Ltd., 2004,
ages 4 to 8, ISBN 978-0-9748486-7-9

This fun, fact-filled novelty book comes packaged with the SmartLab Dino Bones set, which kids can assemble themselves. The last few pages of the book contain instructions for assembling the model.