Field and Pocket Guides

Topic

Title and Description

Copies

Caterpillar pocket guide

Caterpillars (Peterson First Guides) by Amy Bartlett Wright.  New York, New York:  Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993.  Concise field guide to 120 common caterpillars of North America.  Color drawings, descriptions.

1

Insect field guide

Field Guide to Insects & Spiders (North America) by National Audubon Society.  New York, New York:  Knopf, 1980.  Great photos, "shadowbox" pictures, detailed descriptions of habitat, range, food, sound, life cycle for subject insect/spider. 

1

Insect pocket guide

Insects (Peterson First Guides) by Christopher Leahy.  New York, New York:  Houghton Mifflin Company, 1970.  Concise field guide to 200 common insects of North America.  Color, black & white drawings, descriptions.  

1

Tree field guide

Eastern Trees (Peterson Field Guide) by George A. Petrides.  New York, New York:  Houghton Mifflin Company, 1988.  Field guide to more than 455 tree species in eastern North America, including the Midwest and South.

5

Tree identification

Tree Finder:  A Manual for the Identification of Trees by Their Leaves by May Theilgaard Watts.  Rochester, New York:  Nature Study Guild Publishers, 1998.  Dichotomous key for tree identification using leaves.  Used with grade 4 tree identification lesson.

13

Tree identification

Winter Tree Finder for Identifying Deciduous trees in Winter by May Theilgaard Watts and Tom Watts.  Rochester, New York:  Nature Study Guild Publishers, 1970.  Dichotomous key for tree identification using twigs. 

9

Tree pocket guide

Trees (Peterson First Guides) by George A. Petrides.  New York, New York:  Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993.  Concise field guide to 243 common trees of North America.  

10

Stories for Kids

Topic

Title and Description

Copies

Caterpillars

Creepy, Crawly Caterpillars by Margery Facklam.  Boston, Massachusetts:  Little, Brown and Company, 1996.  Introduction to 13 caterpillars and how they live.  Nice introduction to caterpillar body parts.

1

Earthworms

Earthworms:  Underground Farmers by Patricia Lauber.  New York, New York:  Scholastic, Inc., 1994.  Complete discussion of worm parts, food, predators, reproduction, and habitat,

 and garden benefits.  Not a picture story book.

1

Flower story

The Reason for a Flower by Ruth Heller.  New York, New York:  Paperstar, 1983.  Flower parts and pollination, dispersal, purpose of flower, purpose of seed, seeds as food.

1

Garden story

The Gardener by Sarah Stewart.  New York, New York:  Berryville Graphics, 1997.  Lydia Grace goes to live with her Uncle Jim in the city & takes her love of gardening with her.  Written in friendly letter form in a depression-era setting.  (Note:  An excerpt is part of reading curriculum in grade 4.)

1

Garden story

Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens.  Hew York, New York:  Hardcourt, Inc., 1995.  Tale of a lazy bear who made no use of his land and a hare looking for a way to feed his family.  Bear agrees to allow hare to work the land and share the harvest while bear sleeps.  Story reinforces plant parts that are eaten.

1

Garden story

Weslandia by Paul Fleischman.  Wesley decides to plant a garden and start his own civilization using a staple food crop.  Beautiful illustrations and excellent "bully to buddy" story involving joint effort and imaginative gardening.  (Parents' Choice Honors)  (Note:  This may be part of second grade in-class reading.)

1

Insect story

Bugs!  Bugs!  Bugs! By Jennifer Dussling.  New York, New York:  Dorling Kindersley, 1998.  A brief introduction to insects and some survival adaptations.  Color photos.

1

Ladybug story

Are You a Ladybug? by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries.  Boston, Massachusetts:  Kingfisher, 2000.  Factual telling of ladybug stages, how it lives, what it eats, predators.

1

Plant parts and processes story

The Cat in The Hat:  Oh Say Can You Seed? By Bonnie Worth.  New York, New York:  Random House, 2001.  In Dr. Seuss style, presents plant parts, functions, germination, flower parts, dispersal.

6

Poetry

Haiku Hike by fourth grade student of St. Mary’s Catholic School in Mansfield Massachusetts.  New York, New York:  Scholastic, Inc., 2005.  A book of field notes used to create haiku.  Kids are Authors Award.

1

Rainforest story

The Great Kapok Tree:  A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest by Lynne Cherry.  New York, New York:  Harcourt, 1990.  Story about what happens to rain forest habitat and creatures when it is destroyed.  Reinforces how man, animals, and plants depend on each other.

2

Seed story

The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle.  New York, New York, Aladdin Paperbacks, 1987.  Life of a seed through the seasons.  Covers dispersal, survival challenges, germination, plant life cycle.

1

Spider information

Spinning Spiders by Melvin Bergez.  New York, New York:  Harper Collins Publishers, 2003.  Introduces spider to children.  Discusses body parts, web making, types of webs, examples of spiders, what they eat, what eats them.

1

Spider story

Are You a Spider? By Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries.  Boston, Massachusetts:  Kingfisher, 2000.  Factual telling of spider parts, how it lives, what it eats, predators, examples.

1

Spider story

Diary of a Spider by Doreen Cronin.  New York, New York:  Harper Collins Publishers, 2005.  Humorous look at the life of a spider – how it lives, eats, looks.

1

Tree (apple) cycle story

A Day at the Apple Orchard by Megan Faulkner and Adam Krawesky.  New York, New York:  Scholastic, Inc., 2005.  A story about a visit to an apple orchard to learn how apples grow and how to pick them.

Tree (apple) cycle story

A Tree is a Plant by Clyde Robert Bulla.  New York, New York:  Harper Collins, 1960.  Life cycle and seasons of apple tree, parts of tree.  Includes activities to show that water come out of leaves and to tell the age of a tree.

1

Worksheets and activities

Ladybugs by Dona Herweck Rice.  Westminster, California:  Teacher Created Materials, Inc., 1999.  Using ladybugs across the curriculum in language arts, math, social studies, science, arts/crafts, movement, and life skills.  Wonderful activities and worksheets.  Literature based using The Grouchy Ladybug by Eric Carle and The Ladybug and Other Insects:  A First Discovery Book by Gallimard Jeunesse and Pascale de Bourgoing. 

1

Worm story

Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin.  New York, New York:  Harper Collins Publishers, 2003.  Humorous look at the life of a worm – how it lives, eats, looks.

2

Books in a Bag

Topic

Title and Description

Copies

Inside activity

Jack's Garden by Henry Cole.  New York, New York:  Greenwillow Books, 1995.  Written in the form of "The House that Jack Built," depicts through words and pictures what happens in Jack's garden after he plants his seeds. 

1

Inside activity

The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss.  New York, New York:  Harper Collins, 1945.  After planting a carrot seed, a small boy ignores the nay-sayers in his family who say it won't come up, and is handsomely rewarded for his labor and faith.  Quick read.

1

Inside activity

The Popcorn Book by Tomie dePaola.  New York, New York:  Holiday House, 1978.  Describes the history of popcorn, storing and cooking popcorn, how popcorn pops, types of popcorn, statistics of popcorn producers and eaters.

The Popcorn Dragon by Jane Thayer.  New York, New York:  Morrow Junior Books, 1989.  Story of a dragon whose friends wouldn't play with him when he was showing off until he turned a talent into a way to share with his friends.

1

Writing activity

I Went Walking by Sue Williams.  Orlando, Florida:  Harcourt Brace, 1996.  A boy's walking adventure turns into a parade as each animal he meets follows along.

1