My 2nd grade daughter & 4 year old son love science related books, pictures, etc. When we go to the library, they are usually more interested in the reference books than the picture books! I would like to purchase some quality science books geared to children to give them for birthdays, etc. I have not had much luck finding many available at the local bookstores. Does anyone know any author/publisher or series that they would recommend on books about animals, space, geology, etc? We have read some of the "Magic School Bus" books, but I am looking for nonfiction, educational books with great pictures.
Have you seen the magazine called "Ask"? It's all science and has no advertisements and is great for kids. There is another in the series for older kids but I cant remember the name. I used "Ask" in my preschool class and we loved it.
The audubon society puts out a magazine and you can look for field guides online in the Audubon Marketplace. Just google it and it should come up. Great detail and loaded with information.
Childcraft produces a science series called "Celebrate Science". It comes with a set of 5 books and a CD with 5 songs plus activity suggestions. There is one set for each of the 5 strands of science. They have a whole section on science and science books. www.childcraft.com
Usborne books are fantastic!
http://www.edcpub.com/
Not sure you can buy 'direct' though...if you're interested, let me know & I'll find out for you...
My son is like that too!! What a pleasure to see your post and know we are not alone. We love the DK books too. We have just about every Magic School Bus book thanks to my inlaws. And those are a great choice!! Watch the Scholastic flyers that come home when school starts again. There are a lot of the non fiction books like that in the Scholastic flyers.
There is a new book on our very own Winter the Dolphin in Clearwater. I had the opportunity to preview it, but it will not be released until October. But that author did an amazing job and has other books out there. So you may start with the other books. www.tinyurl.com/hatkoffamazon Check out the Winter book at www.tinyurl.com/winterbookamazon
As the kids get older. My son loves the 39 Clues. They are written by different popular children's authors. They take science and history and weave it into fictional stories. My son could have read them in 3rd grade. So they don't have to be really old to read them. You may want to get the first one for your daughter, see if she likes it? You also get cards with every book and can interact with the book and cards online. My son doesn't spend a lot of time with it online. He just likes the books. But it's a neat option.
And my son received a book by Stephen and Lucy Hawking last Christmas from his teacher who loves science as much as he does. Searching for the Hawking books I also found Uncle Albert books written by a Physics professor. Someone recommended this for children 10 and up. But my son was reading at a much advanced level in 3rd grade. Your little one may be ready for it too!! http://tinyurl.com/unclealbertbook
Sorry this is so long. Having fun finding answers for you!!
I do not know where you live. But the Pinellas Park Library is a great resource and Krystal is amazing. She may have some suggestions also.
My daughter likes the "Ask Me Why" and "Explore and Learn" books. We got them from a college student selling them... yeah... I know, I know. But they really are neat. And VERY attractive to look at with all sorts of neat facts. They're by Miles Kelly Publishing and the Southwestern Company. My daughter just started 3rd grade this year and I still find these books tucked in her room where she has had them out reading them... or in the floorboard in the back of the car...
I highly recommend the DK Eyewitness series. My kids love it!!!
Just go to Amazon.com and search for DK Eyewitness.
They have books on all the topics you mentioned and then some.
S.
I LOVED the National Geographic books when I was growing up. There's a whole series, with animals, geology, habitats, some culture/archeology, etc. For the 4 year old, you could get him a subscription to Ranger Rick magazine, and the 2nd grader would probably enjoy a subscription to National Geographic, which is also good for adults.
If you're in Gainesville, the museum gift shop has books and science crafts that are good.
Also, although many people don't think of this for young ones, field guides are great for kids. My daughter is into birds and started learning her birds from a beginner's bird guide when she was about one year old. Now she's 2 1/2 and knows LOTS of species and loves to go through the Sibley bird guides, which are the ones I use in the field. They have field guides for geology, fossils, and other stuff as well as just for plants and animals.
If you have a Kohl's near you, they have some great nonfiction picture books out right now that tell interesting facts about animals. They are hardcover books for $5 and they also have the matching stuffed animals, if they enjoy that sort of thing. The author is Steve Jenkins. The website to check them out is http://www.kohlscorporation.com/communityrelations/Commun...
Sneed B. Collard III is another children's book author who writes nonfiction animal books. I taught elementary for 6 years (I am a SAHM now) and my kids, especially the boys, loved these authors for the interesting facts as well as the illustrations.
Good Day,
I use a web site- Dover Books; and they have many kinds of childrens books including science at Great prices! Good luck!
Kathy N.
DK books are the best! Fabulous pictures, lots of information, and it's a huge series with a book on just about any topic you can think of. You can find them at pretty much any bookstore...just ask a salesperson for DK kids books & they'll know what you mean. GL!
Try Usborne books. The Usborne Book of Nature is great. I've always been happy with their books.
National Geographic has some great books...They are more geared towards older, but the pictures are great and they have several geared towards kids!! You should be able to get them online at nationalgeographic.com
Hi M. C
That your 8 and 4 yr old interests I would recomend a subscrption to National Geographics. They have a little of everything.
Good luck
L. M
You should check out Usborne books. They have wonderful educational books. You can find a consultant or find them on amazon! Their big science encyclopedia is full of awesome pictues great information and internet links. They have Many other great science books as well...all for kids!
I would try Barnes and Noble on line. It may take awhile to go through all the books, but you are sure to find some of what you are looking for.
DK (Dorling Kindersley) books are awesome and the photos can't be beat for great color and clarity. You can find them at www.dk.com
If you want a different distraction that is also science related, my sons have all loved the GeoKids videos from National Geographic. And also the Bill Nye the Science Guy videos.
Scholastic has some wonderful series on subjects such as animals or weather. They're generally short books with nice, full-color pictures and should be perfect for your 2nd grader's reading level. If you daughter gets the flyers from her school, you can order them that way. Otherwise try ordering online at Scholastic.com.
Try a subscription to National Geographic Kids. I got one for my niece and its a fantastic magazine for kids who like science/nature. Also, there's a book by Henry Beard & Ron Barrett, The Way Things Really Work. Its fantastic for little minds that like to learn.
MOSI has a wonderful science library, and it is part of the library system. We had a project and found everything that we needed at MOSI library and then some. Check it out!
I would suggest putting your question on the below website. This is for homeschoolers, and they would probably have great ideas for you. I hope it helps.
If you want to invest some money in something more likely to be used in the future, I would look at getting some field guides (maybe Audubon..?). While they won't give so much info. that the girls get overwhelmed, they'll have good info. and great pictures and they can use them to help identify things they see (maybe even keep a list or mark in the book if you're OK with that). Then, they'll get some practice in actually using the books for practical purposes in addition to learning from reading. If you invest in several though, it can get pretty pricey. Birds, insects (think bug collections in school later), reptiles, stars, rocks/minerals, would all be good ones. Good luck!
M.,
My children, too, loved non-fiction and learning all about how things work! I have five children ages 12 to 24, and when they were small, I found Usborne Books! These are wonderful books, and they are largely non-fiction, although they do have a line of fiction now.
These are available in stores or online, but the only place I've found the whole line of Usborne is through a direct sales rep. Since my kids loved the books, I became a rep 15 years ago, and I've stayed right with it all these years. It's a great family-friendly company and a prize-winning product.
I'd be glad to show you box after box of samples, or to drop off a catalog. We also do homeshows or bookfairs. To get a taste of what Usborne has, see UsborneBookshop.com. They have loads of science, nature, history, and how things work books, all with breathtaking pictures.
Happy reading!
Warmly,
M.
Try a science museum's/aquarium's gift shop.
There is a publisher called Usborne who makes excellent nonfiction books. Many moms sell them as home-based businesses.
Good luck!
I really like the DK books. They have great information and lots of colorful pictures. I started with the DK First Encyclopedia, and they have others about animals, the human body, and bunch of different other ones that are quite interesting. There is also a book about How things work which is pretty cool :) Hope this helps.
