Book |
Type |
Access |
Author |
Summary |
Concepts |
Additional Info |
Crawdad Creek^ |
PB |
H |
Scott Russell Sanders |
Panning for gold, two children discover fossils and amazing life living in a creek. |
Aquatic life, fossils |
|
The Drop in My Drink: The Story of Water on Our Planet |
NPB |
M |
Merideth Hooper |
This engaging book includes a detailed story of a water drop through a T Rex, a worm, and an Egyptian princess. |
Water Cycle |
|
Eliza and the Dragonfly |
PB |
M |
Susie Caldwell Rinehart |
A young girl goes exploring the pond with her entomologist aunt. She finds an ugly bug, shows him to her multi-ethnic friends and watches his metamorphosis. |
Metamorphosis, career choices, |
A list of online resources is provided |
Giving Tree^ |
PB |
E |
Shel Silverstein |
A boy goes through his life making use of his friend, the tree. |
Human uses of wood |
|
Home |
PB |
H |
Jeanine Baker |
In the wordless picture book, the collages tell the story of a run-down urban neighborhood that is reclaimed. The entire story is seen through one window and is framed around the life story of a girl, her birth, growth and her impact on the neighborhood. |
Inspirational, positive human impacts |
|
Insectlopedia |
Poetry PB |
M |
Douglas Florian |
Short, amusing poems about insects, spiders and such. |
Insect behavior |
|
The Lorax^ |
PB |
E |
Dr. Seuss |
The Oncelor cuts Truffula trees to make thneads. The Lorax tries to stop him. After the Oncelor cuts all of the trees he realizes his mistake and saves a Truffula seed. At the end of the book he gives the seed to the reader to plant. |
Human uses of forests, forest community, clear cutting, human consumption |
|
Old Turtle |
PB |
E |
Douglass Wood |
When Old Turtle sees all of the Earth arguing about what God looks like, he warns them to stop. Then humans begin to argue about God and misuse their powers. The people here a cry, “Please, stop.” The stars, mountain and wind remind people that God is everywhere. |
Spiritual message, respect of all beings |
|
The Salamander Room^ |
PB |
M |
Anne Mazer |
When a young boy decides to create a home for a salamander in his room, he realizes the complexities of taking animals out of their habitats. |
Habitats, basic needs. |
|
The Water Hole |
PB |
E |
Graeme Base |
Beautifully illustrated, this simple looking counting book has lessons appropriate for preschoolers to parents. The creative illustrations and hidden messages will have your students coming back to it again and again. |
Conservation, ecosystems |
|
Girls Who Looked Under Rocks |
CNF |
H |
Jeannine Atkins |
Six women whose interest in nature began as young girls are profiled in short biographies that are interesting and easy to read. |
Career Choices |
Sharing Nature With Children Book |
Hatchet |
MG |
E |
Gary Paulson |
|
Survival, Appreciation of resources |
|
My Side of the Mountain |
MG |
E |
Jean Craighill George |
In a spellbinding, touching, funny account, Sam learns to live off the land, in the Catskill Mountains, and grows up a little in the process. He has a falcon and a weasel for companionship. |
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|
One Day on Beetle Rock |
MG/YA |
M |
Sally Carrighar |
In this classic of nature writing, each chapter tells the day’s story of a different animal living near Beetle Rock in Sequoia National Park. Tells of their trials and tribulations and their interactions. Story is so authentic that the anthropomorphism does not even show. |
Connections, animal behavior |
Note: not all animals are native to Alabama. |
The Education of Little Tree |
YA |
E |
Forrest Carter |
A five-year-old orphaned boy goes to live with his Cherokee grandparents in the Tennessee mountains where he learns to respect all of nature. This book teaches timeless lessons about family, education and place. |
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Although there is debate over the authors intentions (not an accurate portrayal of the Cherokee culture), this book is worth reading!. |
A Sand County Almanac |
ANF |
E |
Aldo Leopold |
This renowned conservationist provides words of deep wisdom in these essays, from facts about tree growth to concepts of conservation to philosophical discussions of ethics. Full of practical examples of a back-to-the-land lifestyle. |
Conservation, ethics, history, journals |
Although this text is rather advanced, small sections can provide invaluable reading and natural discussion starters for junior high students or older. |
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek |
ANF |
E |
Annie Dillard |
This Pulitzer Prize-winning book is a series of interconnected essays that challenge the reader to contemplate the natural world beyond its commonplace surfaces. |
Nature appreciation |
Selected passages would be appropriate for students grades 5 and up. |
Lost Worlds In Alabama Rocks |
RF |
Easy at Universities |
Jim Lacefield |
A thorough text on the geologic history of Alabama. |
Geology of AL |
Many of the visual aids for the class come from this book. The author lives near Florence has graciously provided geology training for our staff. |
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