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Recommended Books

For Classroom Teachers:

Keeping a Nature Journal: Discover a Whole New Way of Seeing the World Around You.
By Clare Walker Leslie and Charles E. Roth.
Storey Publishing, 2003.
1580174930
Probably the most widely recommended nature journaling book on the market today, Keeping a Nature Journal is informative and aesthetically pleasing. It includes a chapter about journaling with school groups.

Model Inquiries into Nature in The Schoolyard (The MINTS Book)
Virginia Tech Museum of Natural History, 1997.
1884549063
* This book is no longer available, but the Office of EE is looking into having it reprinted.

Moon Journals: Writing, Art and Inquiry Through Focused Nature Study.

Teaching Green - The Elementary Years: Hands-On Learning in Grades K-5.
edited by Tim Grant and Gail Littlejohn.
Green Teacher, 2005.
0865715343
This volume contains numerous environmental-based activities designed for elementary classrooms.

Gr. K-5

Ten Minute Field Trips: A Teacher's Guide to Using the Schoolgrounds for Environmental Studies: Second Edition, Revised.

For grades K-2:

One Small Place in a Tree.
by Barbara Brenner, illustrated by Tom Leonard
HarperCollins, 2004.
068817180x
Gr. K-3
It begins when a bear sharpens her claws in a tree and little holes are made. Timber beetles move in. The hole becomes larger and, at different times, serves as a home for mice, birds, and other wildlife.

For grades 3-5:

Nature in the Neighborhood.
by Gordon Morrison.
Houghton Mifflin, 2004.
0618352155

Gr. 3-6

This book is an excellent resource for exploring urban habitats. Beginning in the spring and going through the seasons, it explores plant, insect, and animal life in a city - from grass growing in cracks in a sidewalk, to a family garden, to train tracks.

Another excellent resource for grades K-5:

Forest Explorer: A Life-Size Field Guide
By Nic Bishop.
Scholastic, 2004.
0439174805.
This book has beautiful, full-color images. The focus is on learning about common insects and animals by showing life-size images of them and providing a few simple facts about each.

Gr. K - 5

And Still the Turtle Watched
By: Sheila MacGill-Callahan Illustrator: Barry Moser
Penguin Books USA Inc. 1991
0140.558365
Long ago an old Indian carved a turtle in a rock and explained to his grandson that it would be the eye of Manitou the All-Father and would watch over the Delaware people. In thoughtful prose frequently imbued with a poetic tone, MacGill-Callahan chronicles the devastating environmental changes that befall this stone guardian with the passage of time. This Native American tale recounts the timeless message of our responsibility to nature and our environment. 

Gr. 1-4

The Patchwork Quilt
By Valerie Flournoy Illustrator Jerry Pinkney
Dial; 1st ed edition (March 29, 1985)
0803700970
Gr. K-3
Twenty years ago Valerie Flournoy and Jerry Pinkney created a warmhearted intergenerational story that became an award-winning perennial. Since then children from all sorts of family situations and configurations continue to be drawn to its portrait of those bonds that create the fabric of family life.

A Taste of Honey
By Nancy Elizabeth Wallace
Scholastic 2002
0439376416
Gr. K-3
A delightful and informative picture book illustrated with colorful, 3-D quality paper cutouts.

Young Lily Bear asks her father where honey comes from and he backtracks through all of the stages, back to the bee. Poppy explains it all to Lily as she asks question after question in typical preschool fashion. The text is brief yet full of interesting detail, using sidebars for additional facts. The clear, clean images further extend the descriptions. A honey game and a facts page round out the presentation. Whether readers learn to say "honey" in Swahili (asali) or Russian (myot), this is an irresistible addition to any bookshelf.