Are You a Cow?


Sandra Boynton - 2012
    As readers answer the chicken’s questions, they’ll gain animal recognition skills as well as an important understanding: No matter who we are, it’s great to just be ourselves.     From the author and illustrator of such bestselling classics as Moo, Baa, La La La! and A to Z, this cheerful, witty board book is sure to delight children and parents alike with Sandra Boynton’s trademark sense of humor.

The Things That I Love about Trees


Chris Butterworth - 2018
    Chris Butterworth's text, gently sprinkled with facts, captures the wonder of a child as Charlotte Voake's busy, buoyant artwork conveys how something as simple and common as a tree can feel like magic taking root around you.

Tidy


Emily Gravett - 2016
    Pete the badger likes everything to be neat and tidy at all times, but what starts as the collecting of one fallen leaf escalates quickly and ends with the complete destruction of the forest! Will Pete realise the error of his ways and set things right?

When Winter Comes


Nancy Van Laan - 2000
    Where oh where do the leaves all go when winter comes and the cold winds blow? What happens to fish, flowers, field mice, and other living things when ponds freeze and the air turns blustery? Walk with a curious child and his parents as winter's first snow falls and find out....

Water in the Park: A Book About Water and the Times of the Day


Emily Jenkins - 2013
    From the first orange glow on the water in the pond, to the last humans and animals running home from an evening rain shower, here is a day-in-the-life of a city park, and the playground within it. A rhythmic text and sweet, accessible images will immerse parents, toddlers, and young children in the summer season and the community within a park. Seasoned picture book readers may notice Emily Jenkins's classic inspirations for this book: Alvin Tresselt's Caldecott Medal-winning White Snow, Bright Snow, illustrated by Roger Duvoisin, and Charlotte Zolotow's The Park Book, illustrated by H. A. Rey.

What Does an Anteater Eat?


Ross Collins - 2018
    Baffled and with his tummy rumbling, he consults the other animals. But Sloth is too busy, Toucan is clueless, and Crocodile has his own mouth full. Maybe the ants will know—and maybe the answer isn't quite as obvious as you may think! A delightfully silly tale that little ones will return to again and again.

Water Is Water: A Book About the Water Cycle


Miranda Paul - 2015
    Sip. Pour me a cup. Water is water unless...it heats up.Whirl. Swirl. Watch it curl by. Steam is steam unless...it cools high.This spare, poetic picture book follows a group of kids as they move through all the different phases of the water cycle. From rain to fog to snow to mist, talented author Miranda Paul and the always remarkable Jason Chin (Redwoods, Coral Reefs, Island, Gravity) combine to create a beautiful and informative journey in this innovative nonfiction picture book that will leave you thirsty for more.

Trees


Carme Lemniscates - 2017
    Trees change through the seasons springing to life, bearing fruit, and losing their leaves before a period of sleep. They clean the air we breathe, provide seeds and homes for creatures, and extend their shade to everyone equally. Throughout all these changes, trees are constant, patiently learning to grow and flourish wherever they might be. Trees is a reverent and poetic homage that invites the reader to take a closer look at these magnificent beings."

On Beyond Bugs


Tish Rabe - 1999
    Just wait… and you’ll soon see an insect go by!” With these words Dr. Seuss’ Cat in the Hat sets out to take young readers on a fascinating tour of the insect world – a world teeming with six legged critters from moths to fleas and fireflies. This title forms part of a series of books that takes an off-beat look at natural history through a fun combination of Seussian rhymes and zany illustrations. Aimed at early readers – from four to seven year olds – the books are designed to bridge the gap between concept books written for preschoolers and more formal non fiction titles that require fluent reading skills. By presenting the facts in a lively and rhythmic manner, they provide the critical foundation upon which complex facts and ideas can eventually be built.

A Tree Is Nice


Janice May Udry - 1956
    She goes on to explain that even one tree is nice, if it is the only one you happen to have.Some of the reasons why trees are so good to have around are funny. Some are indisputable facts. But in all of them there is a sense of poetic simplicity and beauty which will be sure to entrance any young child. Whether he knows one tree or many, he will relish the descriptions of the delights to be had in, with, or under a tree.Marc Simont's joyous pictures, half of them in full color, accentuate the child-like charm of the words. And each painting of a tree or trees shows just how very nice they can be.

Into the Outdoors


Susan Gal - 2011
    Beside a lake! Next to a waterfall! On top of a mountain! Then after the sun slips behind the hills, they'll snuggle alongside each other and dream sweet dreams inside their tent among the trees.Gal's pictures capture all the beauty of the natural world. And she's included a humorous cast of animal characters on a parallel journey of their own, so the art is full of funny things to spot.This is a gem of a story for parents and teachers to share with their happy campers.

Different? Same!


Heather Tekavec - 2017
    For example, the zebra gallops, the bumblebee flies, the lemur leaps and the tiger prowls --- ?But look closer now ... We all have STRIPES!? And so it goes. Again and again, readers will be surprised to find that a group of four seemingly different animals all have one trait in common --- whiskers, horns, shells and the like --- for a total of thirteen traits in all. Observant children will notice that one of the animals from each group also appears on the following spread with three new animals that have a different characteristic in common. Finally, all forty of the featured animals are shown together, and readers are asked to search for those with specific characteristics not already covered in the book --- for example, those with spots, those who live in the ocean or those with six or more legs. Author Heather Tekavec has discovered a fun and interactive approach to helping young children begin to explore the ways animals are classified. Pippa Curnick's playful and engaging illustrations of the animals in their habitats are all scientifically accurate, keeping the experience both enjoyable and informative. The searching activity also works to enhance visual literacy. With a detailed glossary included, this is an ideal book for introducing early lessons on the characteristics of living things and for starting discussions on the ways all creatures are like and unlike one another.

You Are Stardust


Elin Kelsey - 2011
    From its opening pages, the book suggests that we are intimately connected to the natural world; it compares the way we learn to speak to the way baby birds learn to sing, and the growth of human bodies to the growth of forests. Award-winning author Elin Kelsey — along with a number of concerned parents and educators around the world — believes children are losing touch with nature. This innovative picture book aims to reintroduce children to their innate relationship with the world around them by sharing many of the surprising ways that we are all connected to the natural world.Grounded in current science, this extraordinary picture book provides opportunities for children to use their imaginations and wonder about some big ideas. Soyeon Kim’s incredible diorama art enhances the poetic text, and her creative process is explored in full on the reverse side of the book’s jacket, which features comments from the artist. Young readers will want to pore over each page of this book, exploring the detailed artwork and pondering the message of the text, excited to find out just how connected to the Earth they really are.

A Grand Old Tree


Mary Newell DePalma - 2005
    Every spring the grand old tree flowered and bore cherries for the squirrels and birds that made their homes in her leafy branches. And every year, seeds from the tree scattered in the wind, along with many millions of leaves. Mary Newell DePalma creates an emotional tale of life and renewal, of nature's bounty and quiet balance, illustrated with simple images made powerful with vivid colors and moving compositions.

Yucky Worms


Vivian French - 2010
    Kids are invited to find out where worms live, see how they move, and understand why gardeners consider them friends with the help of this humorous and informative look at an unappreciated — and fascinating — creature.