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Picturing the Natural World

Picture books for beginning the study of the natural world with younger children.

Books published in the UK are indicated.


Nature Study 

  • The Farmyard Tales First Nature Book (Usborne) UK
  • Nature School (Mick Manning) UK

Seasons

  • Skip Through the Seasons (Stella Blackstone) - formerly Jump Into January. UK
  • Usborne Book of the Seasons (also published as Activities for All Year Round) UK
  • Signs of Spring / Summer / Autumn / Winter (Paul Humphrey) UK
  • Guess How Much I Love You in the Spring / Summer / Autumn / Winter (Sam McBratney) UK
  • Spring: an Alphabet Acrostic (also Summer / Autumn / Winter) (Steven Schnur)  
  • Crafts to Make in the Spring  / Summer / Autumn / Winter (Kathy Ross) - Crafts for All Seasons series
  • The Story of Spring: The First Flower (Rosie McCormick) UK
  • The Story of Summer: Buttercups and Daisies (Rosie McCormick) UK
  • The Story of Autumn: A Golden Leaf (Rosie McCormick) UK
  • The Story of Winter: A Snowflake Falls (Rosie McCormick) UK
  • Winter King and the Summer Queen (Mary Lister) - fairy tale UK
  • The Pear Tree (Meredith Hooper and Bee Willey) - counting rhyme follows wildlife in a pear tree through the changing seasons UK


Animals

  • The Oxford First Book of Animals (Barbara Taylor) UK
  • The Furry Animal Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta)
  • Bat Loves the Night (Nicola Davies) UK
  • Bears in the Forest (Karen Wallace) UK
  • Elephant (Judy Allen) UK
  • Red Fox (Karen Wallace) UK
  • I Love Guinea-Pigs (Dick King-Smith) UK
  • Hedgehog Haven: a Story of a British Hedgerow Community (Deborah Dennard)
  • A Field Full of Horses (Peter Hansard) UK
  • Koala Country: a Story of an Australian Eucalyptus Forest (Deborah Dennard)
  • Meerkat Mail (Emily Gravett) UK
  • Two Tiny Mice: a Natural World Adventure (Alan Baker) - beautifully illustrated with large pictures of English wild animals in natural settings. The 2006 revised edition includes short nature notes on each animal at the back. UK
  • I Like Monkeys Because ... (Peter Hansard) UK
  • Tracks of a Panda (Nick Dowson) UK
  • Panda (Judy Allen) UK
  • Ice Bear (Nicola Davies) - polar bears UK
  • The Polar Bear Horizon (Janet Halfmann)
  • All Pigs Are Beautiful (Dick King-Smith) UK
  • Animal Lives: The Rabbit (Sally Tagholm and Bert Kitchen) UK
  • Tiger (Judy Allen) UK
  • Tigress (Nick Dowson) UK
  • Walk With a Wolf (Janni Howker) UK

Birds
  • Eagle (Judy Allen) UK
  • My Goose Betsy (Trudi Braun) UK
  • My Hen is Dancing (Karen Wallace) UK
  • Animal Lives: Barn Owl (Sally Tagholm and Bert Kitchen) UK
  • Owl Moon (Jane Yolen)
  • Pelican's Catch  (Janet Halfmann)
  • The Emperor's Egg (Martin Jenkins) - penguins UK
  • Penguin's Family: the Story of a Humboldt's Penguin (Kathleen M. Hollenbeck)
  • Puffin's Homecoming (Darice Bailer)
  • Swallow Journey (Vivian French and Karin Littlewood) UK
  • Follow the Swallow (Julia Donaldson) UK
  • The Bird Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta)

Reptiles
  • Chameleons Are Cool (Martin Jenkins) UK
  • The Frog Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta)
  • The Yucky Reptile Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta)

Insects and Mini-beasts
  • Beeman (Laurie Krebs) UK
  • Caterpillar Butterfly (Vivien French and Charlotte Voake) UK
  • Spider Watching (Vivien French and Alison Wisenfeld) UK
  • The Icky Bug Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta)

Seas and Marine Life
  • The Deep Blue Sea (Jakki Wood) UK
  • The Ocean Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta)
  • This is the Reef (Miriam Moss) UK
  • Curious Clownfish (Eric Maddern) UK
  • Coral Reef Hideaway: the Story of a Clown Anemonefish (Doe Boyle and Stephen James Petruccio)
  • Crab Moon (Ruth Horowitz and Kate Kiesler)
  • Dancing on the Sand: the Story of an Atlantic Blue Crab (Kathleen M.Hollenbeck)
  • Hermit Crabs Home: Safe in a Shell (Janet Halfmann)
  • Dolphin's First Day: the Story of a Bottlenose Dolphin (Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld and Stephen James Petruccio)
  • Dolphin's Rescue: the Story of a Pacific White-Sided Dolphin (Janet Halfmann and Stephen James Petruccio)
  • Lobster's Secret (Kathleen M. Hollenbeck and John Weiner)
  • Manatee Winter (Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld and Stephen James Petruccio)
  • Wings in the Water: the Story of a Manta Ray (Hope Irvin Marston and Stephen James Petruccio)
  • Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea (Janet Halfmann)
  • Gentle Giant Octopus (Karen Wallace) UK
  • Octopus Den (Deirdre Langeland and Stephen James Petruccio)
  • Otter on His Own: the Story of a Sea Otter (Doe Boyle and Robert Lawson)
  • Puffer's Surprise (Barbara Gaines Winkelman and Stephen James Petruccio)
  • Sockeye's Journey Home: the Story of a Pacific Salmon (Barbara Gaines Winkelman)
  • Seahorse: the Shyest Fish in the Sea (Chris Butterworth) UK
  • Seal (Judy Allen) UK
  • Seal Pup Grows Up: the Story of a Harbor Seal (Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld)
  • Sea Lion Roars (C.Drew Lamm and Joel Snyder)
  • Surprising Sharks (Nicola Davies) UK
  • Survival in the Sea: the Story of a Hammerhead Shark (Linda Lingemann)
  • Great White Shark: Ruler of the Sea (Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld)
  • Swordfish Returns (Susan Korman and Daniel Stegos)
  • Tortuga (Paul Geraghty) - fictional story of a tortoise UK
  • One Tiny Turtle (Nicola Davies) UK
  • Turtle Watch (Saviour Pirotta) UK
  • Sea Turtle Journey: the Story of a Loggerhead Turtle (Lorraine A. Jay and Katie Lee)
  • Little Walrus Warning (Carol Young and Walter Stuart)
  • Whale (Judy Allen) UK
  • Big Blue Whale (Nicola Davies) UK
  • Humpback Goes North (Darice Bailer and Stephen Marchesi)
  • Giant of the Sea: the Story of a Sperm Whale (Courtney Granet Raff and Shawn Gould) 
  • Orca Song (Michael C. Armour and Katie Lee)

Ponds and Rivers
  • Think of a Beaver (Karen Wallace) UK
  • Think of an Eel (Mike Bostock) UK
  • Animal Lives: The Frog (Sally Tagholm and Bert Kitchen) UK
  • Growing Frogs (Vivien French) UK
  • Animal Lives: The Otter (Sandy Ransford and Bert Kitchen) UK
  • The Drop in My Drink: the Story of Water on Our Planet (Meredith Hooper)
  • River Story (Meredith Hooper and Bee Willey) UK
  • The Freshwater Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta)

Deserts
  • This is the Oasis (Miriam Moss) UK
  • The Desert Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta)
  • Cactus Cafe: a Story of the Sonoran Desert (Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld)

Jungles and Forests
  • Story of La Selva: a Story of a Costa Rican Rain Forest (Joan Banks and Higgins Bond)
  • Lemur Landing: a Story of Tropical Dry Forest (Deborah Dennard)
  • Mountain Mists: a Story of the Virungas (Evelyn Lee)
  • Canopy Crossing: a Story of an Atlantic Rain Forest (Anne Whitehead Nagda)
  • Great Grizzly Wilderness: a Story of a Pacific Rain Forest (Audrey M. Fraggalosch)
  • Koala Country: a Story of an Australian Eucalyptus Forest (Deborah Dennard)
  • Realm of the Panther: a Story of South Florida's Forests (Emily Costello)

Mountains
  • World Above the Clouds: a Story of a Himalayan Ecosystem (Anne Whitehead Nagda and Paul Kratter)
  • Land of the Wild Llama: a Story of the Patagonian Andes (Audrey M. Fraggalosch)

Grasslands
  • Bluestem Horizon: a Story of a Tallgrass Prairie (Evelyn Lee)

Other Habitats
  • A Ruined House (Mick Manning) UK
  • Along the Luangwa: a Story of an African Flood Plain (Schuyler Bull)
  • Hedgehog Haven: a Story of a British Hedgerow Community (Deborah Dennard)

Plants
  • The Global Garden (Kate Petty and Jennie Maizels) UK
  • The Flower Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta)
  • A Little Guide to Wild Flowers (Charlotte Voake) UK
  • Grow Your Own Sweet Peas (Ley Honor Roberts) UK
  • Grow Your Own Nasturtiums (Ley Honor Roberts) UK
  • Grow Your Own Sunflowers (Ley Honor Roberts) UK
  • What’s This? A Seed’s Story (Caroline Mockford) UK
  • Ten Seeds (Ruth Brown) - combines reverse counting with the life cycle of a plant. Simple and well done. UK
  • The Tiny Seed (Eric Carle) UK
  • Fly Traps! Plants That Bite Back (Martin Jenkins) UK
  • The Vegetable Alphabet Book (Jerry Pallotta)
  • The Apple Trees (Vivian French)UK
  • Apple Green and Runner Bean (Phyllis King) UK
  • Jody's Beans (Malachy Doyle) UK
  • The Mushroom Hunt (Simon Frazer) UK
  • Doing the Garden (Sarah Garland) UK
  • Eddie's Garden and How to Make Things Grow (Sarah Garland) UK
  • Young Gardener (Stefan Buczacki) - gardening projects UK
  • What Shall I Grow? (R Gibson) - activities UK

Geology
  • The Fossil Girl (Catherine Brighton) - story of Mary Anning UK
  • Stone Girl Bone Girl: the Story of Mary Anning of Lyme Regis (Laurence Anholt) UK
  • The Island that Moved (Meredith Hooper) - plate tectonics
  • This Bowl of Earth (Jan Mark) UK

Weather

  • W is for Wind: a Weather Alphabet (Pat Michaels, Patrick Paulauski & Melanie Rose)


Astronomy

  • G is for Galaxy: an Out of This World Alphabet (Cathy Collison)
  • Once Upon a Starry Night (Jacqueline Mitton) - constellations UK
  • The Planet Gods (Jacqueline Mitton) - solar system UK
  • Zodiac: Celestial Circle of the Sun (Jacqueline Mitton) UK
  • Stardust from Space (Monica Grady) UK
  • Star Seeker: a Journey to Outer Space  (Theresa Heine) - adventure, science and mythology UK