Books on Topic

To an elephant, Marta is very small, but to a bug, she is very big. In this story, kids will compare Marta to various other creatures and explore opposing characteristics.

Topic: physical characteristics (big and small), fast and slow, loud and quiet

An owl has a balloon, and his little friend wants to trade for it. No matter what the friend tries to do to convince the owl to trade, the owl won't trade, until . . . (in Spanish)

Topic: describing objects, classifying by physical traits (color, size, etc)

Who sank the boat? Was it the donkey? The sheep? It couldn't be the tiny little mouse! Who could have done it?

Topic: density, buoyancy, floating and sinking

You know how you try to find the simplest solution to a problem? Rube Goldberg doesn't! Read about the crazy round-about ways he takes to accomplish simple tasks using different types of forces.

Topic: force and motion, change in position, push and pull

Nicholas wants to be brave just like his dad. Fortunately, he has a dinosaur that helps him with that. When he loses it, though, the darkness starts to look a little spookier than before.

Topic: shadows, increase/decrease light energy

George was the bravest kid in the neighborhood. He could scale the tallest trees and swing higher than any other kid around. At bedtime, though, it was a different story. In the dark, nothing looked quite the same.

Topic: light and dark, how objects appear in dim light

Malarkey is a very lazy cat; too lazy to catch a mouse. Instead, he decides to spend his time designing and building a series of intricate mouse traps to try and catch the mouse for him. His designs, however, don't quite work the way he expects.

Topic: simple machines, forces, push/pull, Rube Goldberg designs

What would you do if you had a rainbow of your own? This child finds all sorts of ways to play with a rainbow until the sun comes out and chases it away. Though written for very young audiences, the end of the book lends itself to discussing how light can refract through other media.

Topic: rainbows, refraction

​Daughter of the great Madame Mirabella, Mira struggles with predicting the future. When she learns that she can predict weather with tools, her predictions start to become more accurate.

Topic: measuring and recording weather, observing changes in weather

Based on a true story, William Kamkwamba learned how to use the power of wind to help feed his starving people after a severe drought affected all of his country's crops.

Topic​: wind energy, alternative energy

Take a trip through the grand canyon and observe the many wonders of this landform. From animals to rock formations, students can see the features of this natural wonder.

Topic: landforms, weathering/erosion/deposition

​Follow the Little Raindrop as he falls to the ground, travels by stream to the ocean, and is once again lifted into the air through the stages in the water cycle.

Topic: water cycle

Ice Boy doesn't want to be an ice cube for someone's drink; he wants to more for himself. As he ventures out of the freezer to explore the world, he changes forms and travels in different states.

Topic: water cycle, changes in states of water

The Sun is kind of a big deal; being the center of the solar system, causing the water cycle, making photosynthesis possible . . . come and see all the ways the Sun thinks he is a big deal!

Topic: the Sun, energy, day/night, water cycle, photosynthesis, seasons

Have you met Pluto? He's just about to tell you about himself when he gets the call from scientists on Earth that he's no longer a planet. Join Pluto as he ventures through the solar system, introducing you to other planets and objects on his way to talk to the Sun.

Topic: solar system, planet characteristics, dwarf planets

Why does the Sun rise in the morning? Why do we have seasons? Who can tell time without a clock? All of these questions and many more can be answered in this book!

Topic: seasons, day/night cycle, time, calendars

Take an incredible trip through time with a father and daughter and learn about the formation of the Grand Canyon, fossils that are found there, and the variety of plants and animals that live in this wondrous place!

Topic: canyons, fossils, weathering/erosion, sedimentary rocks

The leaves of Fletcher's favorite tree have started to change colors and are falling off. Fletcher, worried that his tree is sick, hurries to tie the leaves back onto the tree, but they just won't stay on. What is happening to Fletcher's tree?

Topic: seasons, dormancy

Winter is easy. Spring is easy. Summer is easy.

Fall is not easy.

Change is hard, even for trees in the fall. Hear about one tree's struggle to change its color for the fall season in this book!

Topic: seasons, dormancy

This book discusses how Yellowstone changed with the introduction of wolves into the area. Going beyond the hunting of the indigenous elk population, other organisms were able to grow and thrive, introducing additional plants and animals.

Topic: food chains/webs, changes to ecosystems

​Is your mama a llama? A little llama travels around and asks different animals if their mama is a llama. All of the animals reply by describing their mama to the little llama.

Topic: shared traits between parent and offspring

A young man goes into the Amazon rain forest to cut down the great Kapok tree. The heat of the sun lulls him into a nap, and different animals come and whisper to him, persuading him not to cut down the tree.

Topic: habitats, ecosystem, changes to the ecosystem

A mouse frets when his friend bear decides that it is time to go to bed for the winter. He tries to tell the bear all of the wonderful things he will miss as he sleeps.

Topic: hibernation

Are we there yet?? This very impatient caterpillar cannot wait to turn into a butterfly. Does he have the patience it takes to do it?

Topic: metamorphosis, butterfly life cycle

Are we there yet?? Now a butterfly, our once-impatient caterpillar is on the hunt for some flowers. Stuck in the middle of the ocean, he starts to wonder if he'll ever make it.

Topic: migration, dormancy

In this companion book to The VERY Impatient Caterpillar, we meet a new friend who teaches our butterfly about what it means to be nocturnal.

Topic: nocturnal and diurnal

Did you know that there are different kinds of tropical rain forests? And that there are layers within each? Follow along with the Cat in the Hat as he explain it all to you!

Topic: biomes, types of ecosytems, characteristics of organisms in rain forests

Are you my mother? Follow along with this baby bird to discover who his mother might be.

Topic: parent/offspring resemblance, inherited traits

Poor Lion, Shark, and Wolf. They can't seem to make any friends; no one likes them because they are carnivores. Can they fix their problem by turning into herbivores? Maybe they can make friends if they wear disguises. Come read and find out what happens!

Topic: food chains, animal characteristics

What if you had animal eyes? How about an animal tail? Or teeth or hair? This exciting series of books explains how you would use these characteristics in your everyday life!

Topic: animal characteristics, traits, structures and functions

Heidi is excellent at playing hide and seek! She is very good at knowing how to blend into her surroundings. Read to see some of the backgrounds she can hide within!

Topic: camouflage, physical characteristics

Meet Hopper, a young bunny that hops through the forest with his mother and encounters many new adventures! From hiding from falcons to waking up grumpy hibernating hedgehogs, Hopper learns a lot about the forest in winter.

Topic: hibernation, camouflage, winter, ecosystems

Join this tiny seed on its adventure as it travels to new places and tries to grow into a giant flower! Learn all the ways seeds can travel to find space to grow, and the dangers they can encounter to keep them from germinating.

Topic: germination, seeds, seasons, seed dispersal, plant life cycle

Explore all of the different kinds of eggs! Some are different colors, others different textures! And in all of them waits a tiny little creature, waiting to be born!

Topic: animal life cycles

Below the surface of the ocean, vast kelp forests grow and thrive. Among those forests, you can find otters swimming around. But what happens when you take the otters away?

Read about the impact that one population has on an entire ecosystem, and what efforts were made to restore otters to their natural habitat.

Topic: changes in ecosystems, food webs/chains

There are many different kinds of seeds, and they all look so different from one another! Explore all the different types of seeds and how they bring us so many different kinds of plants!

Topic: plant life cycles

What do you do when you're scared? In this story, learn about two friends who are, at first, afraid of each other, but become friends as they notice how others defend themselves when they are scared.

Topic: animal characteristics, protection from predators

Hank the Cactus lived in a windowsill in a house in the hot, dry, peaceful desert; just the way he liked it. But his 'prickly' attitude with other animals quickly leads him to wonder- maybe he does need a hug. But would anybody hug a cactus?

Topic: desert ecosystem, inherited traits

Why do you do what you do? When Carl the Earthworm is faced with this question, he visits with other animals to find the answer to this question. However, the more time he spends searching for his answer, the more the soil he cares for begins to change . . .

Topic: decomposers, ecosystem roles, food chain/web roles

Once upon a time, when the Earth was very young, the trees all grew together. Find out what happens when trees grow a little too close together, and the solutions that these trees took to solve this problem!

Topic: seed adaptations, germination, changes to ecosystem

Who has the best beak in Boonaroo Bay? The birds decide to hold a contest to find out, but what they discover is a shock to all of them!

Topic: bird beaks, adaptations, inherited traits

A young boy finds a salamander and takes him home. When his mom sees his new friend, she begins to ask questions that leads the young boy to realize that maybe there is more to taking care of an animal than first meets the eye.

Topic: ecosystems, interactions, human/pet caregiver, basic needs of organisms