Novels that Complement Your Science Studies

(with approximate grade levels)

Zoology 1: Flying Creatures

Rumble Tumbles Through Time: Dinosaur Days – Jeannie Fulbright (2–6) — pterosaurs The Trumpet of the Swan, E.B. White (2–4) — trumpeter swan Frightful's Mountain, Jean Craighead George (5–7) — peregrine falcon biology Owls in the Family, Farley Mowat (2–4) — owls, naturalist Mr. Popper's Penguins, Richard & Florence Atwater (2–4) — penguins Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Birds, Jim Arnosky (K–3) — bird identification Crinkleroot's 25 Birds Every Child Should Know, Jim Arnosky (K–3) — birds Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing Butterflies and Moths, Jim Arnosky (K–3) — insects

Zoology 2: Swimming Creatures

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Jules Verne (7–9) — marine biology, oceanography Crinkleroot's 25 Fish Every Child Should Know, Jim Arnosky (K–3) — fish

Zoology 3: Land Animals

Summer of the Monkeys, Wilson Rawls – Wild monkeys, animal behavior, and Ozark river bottoms Rumble Tumbles Through Time: Dinosaur Days – Jeannie Fulbright My Father's Dragon, Ruth Stiles Gannett (2–3) — wild island animals James Herriot's Treasury for Children (K–2) — farm animals, veterinary King of the Wind, Marguerite Henry (3–5) — horses Mountain Born, Elizabeth Yates (3–5) — sheep Gentle Ben, Walt Morey (5–7) — bears Old Yeller, Fred Gipson (5–7) — dogs The Green Ember, S.D. Smith (4–6) — rabbits The Black Stallion, Walter Farley (4–6) — horses The Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling (6–8) — jungle animals Kavik the Wolf Dog, Walt Morey (5–7) — wolf-dog Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry (3–5) — wild ponies, herd biology Rascal, Sterling North (5–7) — pet raccoon, naturalist memoir The Yearling, Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings (7–9) — fawn, Florida scrub Where the Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls (5–7) — coonhounds, Ozark woods Big Red, Jim Kjelgaard (5–7) — Irish setter, north-woods wildlife The Incredible Journey, Sheila Burnford (5–7) — animals trek home Summer of the Monkeys, Wilson Rawls (5–7) — monkeys Black Beauty, Anna Sewell (6–8) — horse welfare and anatomy Crinkleroot's 25 Mammals Every Child Should Know, Jim Arnosky (K–3) — mammals

Astronomy

Carry On, Mr. Bowditch, Jean Lee Latham (6–8) — celestial navigation From the Earth to the Moon, Jules Verne (6–8) — orbital mechanics The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet, Eleanor Cameron (3–5) — space travel

Botany

Tree in the Trail, Holling C. Holling (4–6) — cottonwood tree, prairie ecology The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett (4–6) — gardening, plant growth Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Trees, Jim Arnosky (K–3) — tree identification

Chemistry & Physics

Homer Price, Robert McCloskey (2–4) — simple machines The Mouse and the Motorcycle, Beverly Cleary (2–4) — mechanics The Mysterious Island, Jules Verne (7–9) — engineering, chemistry The Ocean of Truth (Sir Isaac Newton), Joyce McPherson (7–9) — physics, motion Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine, Williams & Abrashkin (3–5) — early computers The Great Brain, John D. Fitzgerald (4–6) — invention The Green Glass Sea, Ellen Klages (6–8) — physics, invention Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel, Virginia Lee Burton (K–2) — machines Katy and the Big Snow, Virginia Lee Burton (K–2) — snowplow, blizzard

Geology

Twenty-One Balloons, William Pène du Bois (6–8) — volcanology Frozen Fire, James Houston (6–8) — Arctic geology

Nature Study

The Wild Robot, Peter Brown (3–5) — wilderness, ecosystems My Side of the Mountain, Jean Craighead George (5–7) — wilderness survival, foraging On the Far Side of the Mountain, Jean Craighead George (5–7) — tracking, conservation Island of the Blue Dolphins, Scott O'Dell (5–7) — island ecology The Long Winter, Laura Ingalls Wilder (4–6) — weather, seasons Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, Alfred Lansing (9+) — polar exploration The Sign of the Beaver, Elizabeth George Speare (5–7) — wilderness survival Kensuke's Kingdom, Michael Morpurgo (5–7) — island survival Crinkleroot's Guide to Walking in Wild Places, Jim Arnosky (K–3) — woodland exploration Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing Animal Habitats, Jim Arnosky (K–3) — habitats Crinkleroot's Book of Animal Tracking, Jim Arnosky (K–3) — tracks and signs Crinkleroot's Guide to Giving Back to Nature, Jim Arnosky (K–3) — conservation Crinkleroot's Nature Almanac, Jim Arnosky (K–3) — seasons of nature Crinkleroot's Visit to Crinkle Cove, Jim Arnosky (K–3) — coastal nature I Was Born in a Tree and Raised by Bees, Jim Arnosky (K–3) — Crinkleroot's intro to nature