Nature Reading List
Although nature study is to
be pursued every day, every year, this fall I have given over at
least twelve weeks to the intensive study of the world around us
and to the study of nature-related literature and biographies.
My goal is to acquaint my children intimately with the natural
world near our home and to develop a love for natural history
writing and illustrations. Perhaps more importantly, I want
to embrace with them the world God created for us, to be inspired
and to rest in the comfort and splendor there. My sense is
that we may head for the hills (the woods, the pond, the river) and
never return to doing school at home again! Here are some
books we are enjoying this autumn:
Read Alouds for
everybody:
Caddie Woodlawn
My Side of the Mountain
Rascal
Walden
Laddie
Water Sky
Where the Red Fern Grows
Paddle to the Sea
Minn of the Mississippi
Owls in the Family
Level Three Readers
(I will use several of these
with Michael
while I wait for Biology)
Black Hearts in Battersea
Nightbirds on Nantucket
The Wolves of Willouby Chase
Michael O'Halloran
Freckles
The Keeper of the Bees
The Harvester
The Best of Beston
Girl of the Limberlost
Level Two
Trumpet of the Swans
The Herriott Treasury for Children
Autumn Moon
One Day in the Woods
One Day in the Alpine Tundra
Kildee House
Owl in the shower
The Blue Hill Meadows
Tarantula in my Purse
Winter Moon
Picture book
biographies to share:
Into the Woods
A Man Named Thoreau
Black Whiteness
Pond Watching with Ann Morgan
Bug Watching with Charles Henry Turner
Bird Watching with Margaret Morse Nice
Nature Art with Chiura Obata
Flower Watching with Alice Eastwood
Fish Watching with Eugenie Clark
Exploring the Earth with John Wesley Powell
Wildlife Watching with Charles Eastman
Girls Who Look under Rocks
(note:
We enjoyed this last book, with inspiring stories of young
scientists. But, as a homeschooling family, were surprised—there is a
specific bit of information the author did not include. Miriam Rothschild,
for instance, never went to school. Why didn't the authors mention that
her family believed that school was a waste of time, and that it stifled
scientific creativity? And what of the early education of other women
naturalists? Be inspired to use this book as a starting place, as an
inspiration for more in-depth research. --MacBeth)
Picture Books
(these are Level One
but I really
think everyone
should share them):
Henry David's House
Henry Hikes to Fitchburg
Henry Builds a Cabin
Louisa May and Mr. Thoreau's Flute
Several titles
by each of the following:
Joanne Ryder
When the Woods Hum
Fog in the Meadow
A Fawn in the Grass
Each Living Thing
Wild Birds
Mockingbird
Morning
Catching the Wind
My Father's Hands
The Waterfall's Gift
Hello Tree!
Eric Carle:
The Very Busy Spider
The Very Quiet Cricket
The Very Lonely Firefly
The Very Clumsy Click Beetle
Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
The Mixed up Chameleon
The Grouchy Ladybug
The Honeybee and the Robber
Cynthia Rylant
Every Living Thing
The Bird House
Tulip Sees America
Night in the Country
Blue Hill Meadows
In November
The Wonderful Happens
This Year's Garden
More good stuff:
America The Beautiful
Salamander Rain: A Lake and Pond Journal
Crinkleroot's guide to Knowing the birds
Crinkleroot's Guide to Animal Habitats
Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Trees
(click on thumbnail for closer look!
Resources and
books for Mom and/or high schoolers:
The Amateur Naturalist
Golden Guides:
Pond Life,
Insects,
Birds
The Wild Out Your Window: Exploring Nature Near
at Hand
The Curious Naturalist: Nature's Everyday
Mysteries
Reading the Mountains of Home
Writing Naturally: A down to earth guide to
nature writing
Fun With Nature Take Along Guide
More Fun with Nature Take Along Guide
Drawing From Nature
Keeping a Nature Journal
A Crow Doesn't Need a Shadow
Acorn Pancakes and Dandelion Salad and 38 Other Wild
Recipes
Hurricane Reading
Peter Spier's Rain
Galveston's Summer of the Storm
Hurricane
Magic School Bus inside a Hurricane
Rain Makes Applesauce
Come on, Rain!
Down Comes The Rain
One Morning in Maine
Picture Study
Thomas Locker:
Cloud Dance
Mountain Dance
Where the River Begins
In Blue Mountains
Walking With Henry
and others.
Audubon paintings
Monet’s Water Lilies
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