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Photographs and factual information combine with comical illustrations and lighthearted (though accurate) asides about a range of creatures. Some are familiar, others are not, but all are fascinating and expand the concept of what makes a monster – including humans! 

Remember “the middle of Fall, when the leaves have already turned” and the air is chilly, apples and pumpkins are ready to pick. Soon, the leaves will be gone and the sky will change again, filled with snowflakes. Lyrical language and richly hued paintings evoke the season and the changes that accompany it.

Lyrical language and handsome color photographs combine to present a portrait of the changes that occur in autumn. Different seeds dance in the wind or twirl to the ground while animals find shelter, hibernate or migrate. Autumn is also a season of celebrations which lead to the “shortest day of the year, and winter…” 

The Vietnam war is over, and Grandfather and young Nam dream that the new dikes will restore the wetlands, bringing home the beautiful cranes that once filled the winter sky. But other villagers think that growing rice is a more practical use for the land.

Poetic language provides an introduction to squirrels, their habitats, and behaviors. Collage illustration enhances the information and the energetic tone. Additional information finishes this attractive and informative book.

Examine each double page spread in this oversized book. See the realistically pictured animals and where they live. Make up or find a story about them.  If you’re curious, you can look in the back for the names of the real animals. Handsome scenes from different natural environments make this a book to examine again and again.

“Giant Whale or Giant Hoax?” headlines read in the opening of this mostly wordless book. The adventure continues as two young people prepare to find and record the massive mammal through wordless, realistic, highly detailed monochromatic illustrations. Their breathtaking escapade continues until the final spread depicting another newspaper, announcing that the boys have solved the mystery of the spotted whale.

A year in the life of Vixen, a red fox, reveals how these canine omnivores live, hunt, and reproduce. A muted palette allows Vixen to stand out as she moves throughout her territory. Additional information and resources conclude this attractive, evocative, and informative book.

A young girl and an older woman, Honey, bond over Honey’s garden and her chickens. When Honey must move away, the narrator is devastated until new neighbors move in and the girl can show them how to maintain the garden. An author’s note reveals that her story is loosely based on a Talmudic story about the value of effort not simply the harvest.

Endpages show swimming tadpoles; turn the page and the progression from tadpole to frog appears within brief frog facts. There are over 5,000 kinds of frogs that live all over the world. Turn the page and some of them are introduced in lively but short text and dramatic, colorful illustrations. Alliterative, onomatopoeic frog sounds are effectively incorporated into page designs of this informative and engaging book

The life cycle of a monarch butterfly begins with an egg and a feast by caterpillars; each colorful leaf and creature is hidden beneath a well-hidden flap on bold black and white pages. The journey continues in lyrical language with colorful surprises beneath well camouflaged flaps, sure to inspire close observation and interest. 

A conversational tone and flaps to lift on each double page look at different biomes are sure to inspire further examination. Freshwater, desert, rainforest and other ecological communities of plants and animals are handsomely illustrated and presented on sturdy pages.

Rocks tell stories of constant changes in the earth. And volcanoes show the changes to earth’s surface, often to the benefit of its inhabitants. Join Aurora, her classmates and teacher to explore the forces at work on our planet. Fact and fiction combine in this engaging comic book presentation.

A poem about the well-known Great White begins this handsomely illustrated collection of poems each about a different sea-dwelling shark. Readers will meet the Wobbegong, a nurse shark, the goblin shark, and more. Different poetic forms combine with splendid illustrations that evoke the depths of the creatures’ habitats.

With a warm invitation, “Sun says, Wake up-/come out and explore…” all are invited to observe the new life all around. Stunning nature photographs of animals, amphibians, and insects and a brief text which encourages participation and thought continue the exploration. A bit of additional information to help answer possible questions concludes this handsome book.

Observing birds and eating berries just may lead to a summertime exploration of colors and counting. Meet the yellow goldfinch, a pink flamingo, and other well and less familiar birds in brief text and realistic illustrations. In The Very Berry Counting Book (opens in a new window) by Jerry Pallotta (Charlesbridge; 1580897843), you can count realistic, luscious looking berries from 1 to 10.

A howling wolf, a stalking tiger, a playful panda, a dancing bird – pairing the beautiful photography of National Geographic photographer Joel Sartore with the delicate poetry of Newbery award-winning author Kwame Alexander, this lush picture book celebrates the beauty, diversity, and fragility of the animal world. Featuring more than 40 unique animal portraits, the pages invite kids to explore each creature’s markings, textures, and attributes in amazing detail.

Readers are encouraged to participate in planting a tiny seed, wait, care for it, wait, then watch it grow into a beautiful zinnia. The rhyming text is illustrated as though from ground level with straightforward depictions of an emerging garden. Directions on planting the zinnia seeds (which may be found in the book) briefly expands information on gardening.

The narrator was born on May 17th, a “sunny spring day!” On May 19th, she ate lots of aphids but on June 2nd ate one of two brothers. The life of the praying mantis begins in spring, ends in October, with its own description of life in between. Inviting illustrations illuminate the understated text. Endpages fill in information about a praying mantis’ life cycle.

Stunning, full color photographs combine with rhythmic, lyrical language to celebrate the signs of the new season. Celebrate with children depicted basking in spring’s new growth, holding baby animals, watching and listening to “Spiders spin/Butterlies flit./Bees buzz.” — and preparing gardens for planting. A glossary of terms concludes this handsome book.

As the weather warms farmers’ markets begin to open. Celebrate the start of the season through lively illustrations and short poems that allow communities from large cities to small towns to “…teem with farmers and their goods — /tasty transformations.”

Flowers appear like other things like “Heralding trumpets,/a Mexican hat./Skittering spiders,/a fluttering bat.” But each flower illustrated is real, part of a plant. To make sure readers know this, a photograph accompanied by the common and scientific names as well as where the flower is found and how it is pollinated concludes this intriguing book.

Short poems present a range of familiar insects from crickets to Monarch butterflies. Each is accompanied by brief information about the critter (with additional information at the end), and illustrated with playful, animated, colorful art in Melissa Sweet’s charming signature style.

A bee flies through fields of flowers, over woodland streams and more until it winds up in its hive with others. Colorful illustrations fill each double-page spread, each with a die-cut to glimpse what appears on the next page. The rhyming text moves the bee’s saga satisfyingly along.