Book Finder

Who’s hiding? Lift the flap to find out! Sturdy pages and flaps combine with simply shaped, brightly colored illustrations for a playful game even for the youngest child.

Fast and sluggish, over and under, in and out as well as other concepts are simply demonstrated by a cheerful, quick duck and a comical, slow snail in companion board books. Also see Quick Duck (opens in a new window) by the same author.

Meet marine animals in lush photographs and informative, straightforward text. Count familiar and lesser known sea animals from 1 to 10 and learn more from factual back matter.

Maisy and her friends plant a garden, tend it, and watch the vegetables and flowers grow. Pull tabs on sturdy pages let young readers see the results in this participatory garden tale.

Count colorful butterflies in natural settings in this small, sturdy, attractively illustrated concept book. Each of the colorful ten butterflies is identified by name on the back cover.

Two girls explore the spring colors of blossoming trees. Bold block prints show entire trees and provide a close-up of the blossoms, ideal to help identify familiar and less familiar trees from the dogwood, American beech, and magnolia.

There are many ways to picture a tree throughout the seasons. Sometimes a tree plays “a game of dress-up”, or serves as a “high-rise home sweet home.” Textured collage illustrations extend meaning of the simple, evocative text in a joy-filled celebration of trees.

998 of the 999 frogs (who were once 999 Tadpoles (opens in a new window)) awaken their big brother for an action-packed spring. Simple, childlike illustrations on open backgrounds leave plenty of room for imagination as the frog family and other animals celebrate the season.

They can be observed anywhere; in fact, “You don’t have to go anywhere fancy to watch birds!” The informative, informal and playful guide encourages close observation and identification as well as tips for recording and finding out more about these ubiquitous creatures.

Stunning, realistic illustrations of frogs and onomatopoeic language combine to present frogs and their songs from around the world. A brief warning about threats to frogs’ environments and additional information conclude this engaging book just right to read aloud.

The seasons of a year are presented in realistic illustrations and thoughtful, evocative haikus. A brief note about the form is followed by a final poem: “Earth circles the sun/spinning a tapestry of/days, months, seasons — life.”

Textured borders contain each double-page illustration which places the familiar cumulative song on an African savannah. Rebuses are included in the body of the book and again in a key; music is also included to make this version ideal for sharing.

Stripes are found in nature in a variety of flora and fauna in many habitats. From exotic to domestic, revel in observing stripes in carefully crafted illustrations and lyrical text. Additional information and a playful call to match animal with stripe ends this handsome volume.

A warm portrait of universal parental love begins on a beach when a boy asks his mother, “How far do you love me?” Lyrical responses combine with stunning double page illustrations in places around the globe until the boy is tucked into bed with his response: “I love you to the moon!” A world map and the query in each language conclude this tender book.

This ‘Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science’ follows garbage from the trash bin to various places (landfills, recycling centers, etc.). Common terms are explained and made accessible to children. This title would pair well with Kate & Jim McMullan’s I Stink! (HarperCollins), a book told from the truck’s perspective.

How many kinds of seeds to you see? Where are they found? This handsomely illustrated book of seeds provides a poetic look at the myriad types of seeds and plants to complement a classroom study.

In this springtime tale, a young girl and her father plant a flower box together.

Alliterative, onomatopoeic language (and gentle illustrations) reveal a child’s day shared with family from sun-up to moon-rise.

Short poems (haiku) were written in response to but also evoke creatures shown in crisp close-up photographs of small animals and insects in their natural surroundings. This collection and others by Yolen/Stemple introduce information about nature, and could be used as part of the science curriculum.

Full color photographs chronicle the search for missing mountain gorillas. It is the gorillas that find the young Miza and restore him to his family.

Observing changing leaves and tree life cycles are appropriate in fall. Also try Snowballs (opens in a new window), Waiting for Wings (opens in a new window), Growing Vegetable Soup (opens in a new window), and Planting A Rainbow (opens in a new window) by Lois Ehlert for other seasonal science-related activities.

Arresting photographs of water in various states not only introduces water but also weather, solids and liquids, and more. The sophisticated text further encourages experimentation and observation, although is not necessary to use the entire book with younger children.

These poems introduce various insects and their lives; ideal for sharing aloud and for relating to informational books on insects.

Children are encouraged to observe as experiment as they learn about wind and air as well as practice science writing by describing their findings.