Young Scientist Books for Preschool
Nature & Animals
The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle – Butterfly life cycle, countingBrown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?, Bill Martin Jr. & Eric Carle – Animal ID, colors, patterns
The Snowy Day, Ezra Jack Keats – Weather, snow properties, seasons
Make Way for Ducklings, Robert McCloskey – Ducks' life cycle, animal behavior
Blueberries for Sal, Robert McCloskey – Bears, seasonal food gathering
Owl Moon, Jane Yolen – Owls, nocturnal animals, nature observation
Over in the Meadow, Ezra Jack Keats (adapted) – Counting, animal habitats
Caps for Sale, Esphyr Slobodkina – Monkeys, mimicry, problem-solving
Are You My Mother?, P.D. Eastman – Bird life cycle, animal homes
A House for Hermit Crab, Eric Carle – Tide pools, growth, symbiosis
The Very Busy Spider, Eric Carle – Spiders and web-building
Monarch Butterfly, Gail Gibbons – Metamorphosis and migration
Waiting for Wings, Lois Ehlert – Butterfly life cycle
Stellaluna, Janell Cannon – Bats and nocturnal adaptation
Diary of a Worm, Doreen Cronin – Soil, worms, and decomposers
Big Red Barn, Margaret Wise Brown – Farm animals, day and night
Habitats & Seasons
Time of Wonder, Robert McCloskey – Seasonal change, coastal ecosystemsA Tree is Nice, Janice May Udry – Trees, environment, seasons
The Carrot Seed, Ruth Krauss – Plant growth, patience
In the Small, Small Pond, Denise Fleming – Pond ecology, seasonal changes
The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter – Garden ecology, animal behavior
Miss Rumphius, Barbara Cooney – Planting, seeds, stewardship
The Tiny Seed, Eric Carle – Seed dispersal and the plant life cycle
From Seed to Plant, Gail Gibbons – Plant growth and pollination
The Reasons for Seasons, Gail Gibbons – Seasons and Earth's tilt
Planting a Rainbow, Lois Ehlert – Bulbs, seeds, and flowers
Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf, Lois Ehlert – Trees and the seasons
The Snowflake: A Water Cycle Story, Neil Waldman – The water cycle through the seasons
Intro to Science Concepts
In the Tall, Tall Grass, Denise Fleming – Insects, meadow habitats, life cyclesWhat Do You Do With a Tail Like This?, Steve Jenkins – Animal adaptations and senses
Snowflake Bentley, Jacqueline Briggs Martin – Snow science, a naturalist's life
The Little Island, Margaret Wise Brown – Tides, seasons, animal habitats
An Egg Is Quiet, Dianna Hutts Aston – Eggs across the animal kingdom
A Seed Is Sleepy, Dianna Hutts Aston – Seeds and how plants grow