The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds: A Book About How Living Things Grow


Bruce Degen - 1995
    Frizzle's class is growing a beautiful garden. But, Phoebe's plot is empty. Her flowers are back at her old school! So, the class climbs aboard the Magic School Bus. And, of course, the kids don't only go back to Phoebe's school, but they go inside one of Phoebe's flowers! Follow the kids' adventure and learn how living things grow.

Out of School and Into Nature: The Anna Comstock Story


Suzanne Slade - 2017
    This picture book biography examines the life and career of naturalist and artist Anna Comstock (1854-1930), who defied social conventions and pursued the study of science. From the time she was a young girl, Anna Comstock was fascinated by the natural world. She loved exploring outdoors, examining wildlife and learning nature's secrets. From watching the teamwork of marching ants to following the constellations in the sky, Anna observed it all. And her interest only increased as she grew older and went to college at Cornell University. There she continued her studies, pushing back against those social conventions that implied science was a man's pursuit. Eventually Anna became known as a nature expert, pioneering a movement to encourage schools to conduct science and nature classes for children outdoors, thereby increasing students' interest in nature. In following her passion, this remarkable woman blazed a trail for female scientists today.

My America: A Poetry Atlas of the United States


Lee Bennett Hopkins - 2000
    Here is America in all its stunning variety, from the dramatic seacoast of the Northeast and the rippling cornfields of the Plains States to the shimmering deserts of the Southwest and the majestic redwood forests of the Pacific Coast. But here, too, are the ties that bind this nation together -- the hopes and dreams of those who live in our cities and towns and on farms. The voices of beloved poets like Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg, Nikki Giovanni, and Lilian Moore blend with new voices to sing not just of landmarks like the Mississippi River, the Grand Canyon, and the Everglades, but of daily life across the land. Complementing these personal, moving visions of America are maps of the regions and fascinating facts for each state. Stephen Alcorn's brilliant, textured artwork makes this book a feast for the eyes as well as for the imagination. Impressive for its breadth, depth, and beauty, My America is a volume readers will savor as they read it time and time again. It is fitting homage to our wideranging, ever-changing land.

Prairie School


Avi - 2001
    One day his Aunt Dora arrives to give him some schooling. Noah doesn't think he needs it. What use is reading on the prairie? But what Noah discovers will change his life forever.

The New Way Things Work


David Macaulay - 1998
    To help make sense of the computer age, David Macaulay brings us The New Way Things Work. This completely updated and expanded edition describes twelve new machines and includes more than seventy new pages detailing the latest innovations. With an entirely new section that guides us through the complicated world of digital machinery, where masses of electronic information can be squeezed onto a single tiny microchip, this revised edition embraces all of the newest developments, from cars to watches. Each scientific principle is brilliantly explained--with the help of a charming, if rather slow-witted, woolly mammoth.

Greek Myths


Olivia E. Coolidge - 1949
    Under Olivia Coolidge’s skillful pen, the landscape of early Greece and its famous legends bloom with vigor and are perfectly suited to the adventure-seeking reader.

The Wrinkle in Time Quintet - Digest Size Boxed Set


Madeleine L'Engle - 1989
    The digest box set features the art of Taeeun Yoo.A Wrinkle in Time is one of the most significant novels of our time. This fabulous, ground-breaking science-fiction and fantasy story is the first of five in the Time Quintet series about the Murry family.A Wind in the Door—When Charles Wallace falls ill, Meg, Calvin, and their teacher, Mr. Jenkins, must travel inside C.W. to make him well, and save the universe from the evil Echthros.A Swiftly Tilting Planet—The Murry and O'Keefe families enlist the help of the unicorn, Gaudior, to save the world from imminent nuclear war.Many Waters—Meg Murry, now in college, time travels with her twin brothers, Sandy and Dennys, to a desert oasis that is embroiled in war.An Acceptable Time—While spending time with her grandparents, Alex and Kate Murry, Polly O'Keefe wanders into a time 3,000 years before her own.

Ancient Times: From the Earliest Nomads to the Last Roman Emperor


Susan Wise Bauer - 2001
    Africa, China, Europe, the Americas—find out what happened all around the world in long-ago times. This first revised volume begins with the earliest nomads and ends with the last Roman emperor. Newly revised and updated, The Story of the World, Volume 1 includes maps, a new timeline, more illustrations, and additional parental aids. This read-aloud series is designed for parents to share with elementary-school children. Enjoy it together and introduce your child to the marvelous story of the world's civilizations.Each Story of the World volume provides a full year of history study when combined with the Activity Book, Audiobook, and Tests—each available separately to accompany each volume of The Story of the World Text Book. Volume 1 Grade Recommendation: Grades 1-5.

A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder


Walter Wick - 1997
    The camera stops the action and magnifies it so that all the amazing states of water can be observed - water as ice, rainbow, stream, frost, dew. Readers can examine a drop of water as it falls from a faucet, see a drop of water as it splashes on a hard surface, count the points of an actual snowflake, and contemplate how drops of water form clouds.

Down Comes the Rain


Franklyn Mansfield Branley - 1997
    After rain comes down, the sun comes out and dries the puddles. But the water isn’t gone. The heat from the sun has turned it into water vapor—it has evaporated. Eventually, this moisture in the air condenses to form new clouds. Soon the rain will fall again.

A Really Short History of Nearly Everything (Young Adult)


Bill Bryson - 2003
    It had an illustration that captivated him–a diagram showing Earth’s interior as it would look if you cut into it with a large knife and removed about a quarter of its bulk. The idea of lots of startled cars and people falling off the edge of that sudden cliff (and 4,000 miles is a pretty long way to fall) was what grabbed him in the beginning, but gradually his attention turned to what the picture was trying to teach him: namely that Earth’s interior is made up of several different layers of materials, and at the very centre is a glowing sphere of iron and nickel, as hot as the Sun’s surface, according to the caption. And he very clearly remembers thinking: “How do they know that?”Bill’s storytelling skill makes the “How?” and, just as importantly, the “Who?” of scientific discovery entertaining and accessible for all ages. He covers the wonder and mystery of time and space, the frequently bizarre and often obsessive scientists and the methods they used, and the mind-boggling fact that, somehow, the universe exists and against all odds, life came to be on this wondrous planet we call home.

Cézanne and the Apple Boy


Laurence Anholt - 2009
    The elder Cézanne had been away from home for so long that the boy has difficulty recognizing his father when he joins him on a painting expedition in the mountains of southern France. They quickly become fast friends, and the artist takes great pleasure in painting a portrait of his apple-cheeked son. Most of his paintings, however, are landscapes of the mountain country where they are camping, although the people who live nearby often laugh at the artist's pictures, which they think are poor. But young Paul admires his father's work and he is not alone. A picture dealer from Paris happens to be in the region, and when he sees Cézanne's paintings, he thinks they are wonderful. Before long, Cézanne becomes famous and wealthy. The story, enhanced with Laurence Anholt's illustrations on every page, include several that are reproductions of Cézanne's famous paintings.

Clara and the Bookwagon


Nancy Smiler Levinson - 1988
    Based on the true story of America’s first ‘bookmobile.’"The free library in a nearby Maryland village is off-limits to the curious child, but Clara's chance encounter with librarian Mary Titcomb and the first horse-drawn 'moving library' changes her father's response. A glimpse of childhood without schools, libraries, literacy and books is presented in easy-to-read historical fiction." (Cooperative Children's Book Center)Clara and the Bookwagon is a Level Three I Can Read book. Level 3 includes many fun subjects kids love to read about on their own. Themes include friendship, adventure, historical fiction, and science. Level 3 books are written for early independent readers. They include some challenging words and more complex themes and stories.

Abe Lincoln Grows Up


Carl Sandburg - 1926
    Growing up poor on the family farm, Abe did chores, helped his father cut down trees, and expertly skinned animals and cured hides. As a young man, he became an avid reader. When he witnessed a slave auction while on a flatboat trip down the Mississippi, he was forever changed—and so was the future of America. This is the remarkable story of Lincoln’s youth, early America, and the pioneer life that shaped one of our country’s greatest presidents.

Merry-Go-Round: A Book About Nouns


Ruth Heller - 1990
    A book that's as entertaining as it is educational. Full-color illustrations.