Physical Science Books for K-2 Children

Adler, David A. 1999. How Tall, How Short, How Faraway? Illustrated by Nancy Tobin. NY: Holiday House.

Berger, Melvin, 1990. Switch On, Switch Off. Illustrated by Carolyn Croll. NY: Collins.

Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker. 2005. Forces Make Things Happen. NY: Collins.

Branley, Franklyn M. 2007. Gravity is a Mystery. Illustrated by Edward Miller. NY: Collins.

-------------------------. 1998. Day Light, Night Light: Where Light Comes From. Illustrated by Stacey Schuett.  NY: HarperCollins.

-------------------------. 1996. What Makes a Magnet? NY: HarperCollins.

Brubaker, Kimberly. 2001. Pop! A Book about Bubbles. Photographs by Margaret Miller. NY: HarperCollins.

Bulla, Clyde Robert. 1994. What Makes a Shadow? Illustrated by June Otani. NY: HarperCollins.

Cassino, Mark. 2009. The Story of Snow: the Science of Winter’s Wonder. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Cobb, Vicki. 2004. I Fall Down. Illustrated by Julia Gorton. NY: HarperCollins.

--------------. 2003. I Face the Wind. Illustrated by Julia Gorton. NY: HarperCollins.

--------------. 2002. I See Myself. Illustrated by Julia Gorton. NY: HarperCollins.

--------------. 2002. I Get Wet. Illustrated by Julia Gorton. NY: HarperCollins.

Glass, Andrew. 2003. The Wondrous Whirligig: The Wright Brothers First Flying Machine. NY: Holiday House.

Graham, Joan Bransfield. 1999. Flicker Flash. Illustrated by  Nancy Davis. Houghton Mifflin.
Gullain, Charlotte. 2009. What is Sound? Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann-Raintree,

Mason, Adrienne. 2006. Build It: Structures, Systems and You. Illustrated by Claudia Davila. Tonawanda, NY: Kids Can Press. 

---------. 2006. Change It!  Solids, Liquids, Gases and You. Illustrated by Claudia Davila. Tonawanda, NY: Kids Can Press. 

---------. 2006. Touch It! Illustrated by Claudia Davila. Tonawanda, NY: Kids Can Press.

Mayer, Lynne. 2010. Newton and Me. Illustrated by Sherry Rogers. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Sylvan Dell Publishing.

Pipe, Jim. 2002. What Does a Wheel Do? Illustrated by Jo Moore. Minneapolis. MN:

Cooper Beech Books/Millbrook.

Ross, Michael Elsohn. 2007. What’s the Matter in Mr. Whisker’s Room? Illustrated by Paul Meisel. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.

Slavin, Bill. 2005. How Everyday Things Are Made. Tonawanda, NY: Kids Can Press.

Wells, Robert. 2010. Why Do Elephants Need the Sun? Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman & Company.

-----------------. 1996. How Do You Lift a Lion? Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman & Company.

Zoehfeld, Kathleen Weidner. 1998. What is the World Made Of? All About Solids, Liquids and Gases. Illustrated by Paul Meisel.  NY: Collins

 

Earth and Space Science Books for K-2 Children

Bang, Molly. 2009. Living Sunlight: How Plants Bring the Earth to Life. Illustrated by Penny Chisholm. NY: Blue Sky Press.

Bial, Raymond, 2000. A Handful of Dirt. NY: Walker.

Brenner, Barbara. 2004. One Small Place in a Tree. Illustrated by Tom Leonard. NY: HarperCollins.

Cherry, Lynne. 2004. The Sea, The Storm, and the Mangrove Tangle. NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

-----------------. 2002. A River Ran Wild: An Environmental History. NY: Sandpiper.

-----------------. 2000. The Great Kapok Tree: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest. NY: Sandpiper.

Cherry, Lynne and Marl J. Plotkin. 1998. The Shaman’s Apprentice: A Tale of the Amazon Rain Forest. Gulliver Green/Harcourt Brace.

Christian, Peggy. 2008. If You Find a Rock. Illustrated by Barbara Hirsch Lember. NY: Sandpiper.

Cole, Henry. 2003. On the Way to the Beach. NY: Greenwillow.

Drummand, Allan. 20011. Energy Island: How One Community Harnessed the Wind and Changed their World. NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Earle, Sylvia. 2009. Jump Into Science: Coral Reefs. Illustrated by Bonnie Matthews. Washington D.C.: National Geographic.

French, Vivian. 2004. T. Rex. Illustrated by Alison Bartlett. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

from Down, Down, Down

Gibbons, Gail. 1998. Planet Earth: Inside Out. NY: HarperCollins.

Glaser, Linda. 2010. Garbage Helps Our Garden Grow. Minneapolis, MN: Millbrook Press.

Guiberson, Brenda Z. 2010. Earth: Feeling the Heat. Illustrated by Chad Wallace. NY: Henry Holt.

------------------------. 1993. Cactus Hotel. Illustrated by Megan Lloyd.  NY: Henry Holt.

Hirschi, Ron. 2007. Ocean Seasons. Illustrated by Kirsten Carlson. Mt. Pleasant, SC: Sylvan Dell.

Hopper, Meredith. 1996. The Pebble in My Pocket: A History of Our Earth. Illustrated by Christopher Coady. NY: Viking Juvenile.

Horowitz, Ruth. 2000. Crab Moon. Illustrated by Kate Kiesler. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Press.

Jenkins, Steve, 2009. Down, Down, Down: A Journey to the Bottom of the Sea. NY: Harcourt. 

Kooser, Ted. 2010. Bag in the Wind. Illustrated by Barry Root. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick. (Fiction)

Kurtz, Kevin. 2007. A Day in the Salt Marsh. Illustrated by Consie Powell. Mt. Pleasant, SC: Sylvan Dell.

Locker, Thomas. 2003. Cloud Dance. NY: Sandpiper.

--------------------. 2002. Water Dance. NY: Sandpiper.
--------------------. 2001. Mountain Dance. NY: Sandpiper.

Malone, Peter. 2007. Close to the Wind: The Beaufort Scale. NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.

McNulty, Faith. 1990. How to Dig a Hole to the Other Side of the World. Illustrated by Marc Simont. NY: HarperCollins.

Miller, Debbie. S. 2003. Arctic Lights, Arctic Nights. Illustrated by Jon Van Zyle. NY: Walker and Company.

---------------------. 2000. River of Life. Illustrated by Jon Van Zyle. NY: Clarin Books.

Morrison, Gordon 2006. A Drop of Water. NY: Houghton Mifflin.

Moss, Miriam. 2000. This is the Tree. Illustrated by Adrienne Kennaway. La Jolla, CA: Kane/Miller.

Pirotta, Saviour. 1997. Turtle Bay. Illustrated by Nilesh Mistry. NY: Farrar.

Reed-Jones, Carol. 1995. Tree in Ancient Forest. Illustrated by Chrisopher Canyon Nevada City, CA: Dawn Publications.

Schaefer, Lola M. 2006. An  Island Grows. NY: Greenwillow.

Schnur, Steve. 2000. Spring Thaw. Illustrated by Stacey Schuett. NY: Viking.

Shetterly, Susan Hand. 1999. Shelterwood. Illustrated by Rebecaa Haley McCall. Maine: Tilbury House.

Siddals, Mary McKenna. 2010. Compost Stew. Illustrated by Ashley Wolff. San Francisco, CA: Tricycle Press.

Tomecek, Steve. 2010. Rocks and Minerals: Jump Into Science. Illustrated by Kyle Poling. Washington D.C. : National Geographic

-------------------. 2002. Dirt: Jump Into Science. Illustrated by Nancy Woodman. Washington D.C. : National Geographic.

Waldman, Neil. 2003. The Snowflake: A Water Cycle Story. Minneapolis. MN: Millbrook.

Wells, Robert. 2008. Polar Bear, Why is Your World Melting? Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman & Company.

-----------------.2006. Did a Dinosaur Drink this Water? Morton Grove, IL: Albert Whitman & Company.

Wright-Frierson, Virginia. 1998. An Island Scrapbook: Dawn to Dusk on a Barrier Island. NY: Simon & Schuster.

Tezerski, Thomas. 2011. Meadowlands: A Wetlands Survival Story. NY: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Yolen, Jane. 1998. Welcome to the Ice House. Illustrated by Laura Regan. NY: Putnam.

  

From Meadowlands: A Wetlands SurvivalStory

Space

Aldrin, Buzz. 2009. Look to the Stars. Paintings by Wendell Minor. NY: Putnam.

Bendick, Jeanne. 1991. The Universe is Big. Minneapolis, MN: Millbrook Press.

Bennett, Jeffrey. 2009. Max Goes to Jupitar. Illustrated by Alan Okamoto. Big Kid Science.

-------------------. 2006. Max Goes to Mars. Illustrated by Alan Okamoto. Big Kid Science.

-------------------. 2003. Max Goes to the Moon. Illustrated by Alan Okamoto. Big Kid Science.

Berkes, Marianne. 2008. Going Around the Sun: Some Planetary Fun. Illustrated by Janeen Mason. Nevada City, CA: Dawn Publications.

Branley, Franklyn M. 2002. The Sun: Our Nearest Star. Illustrated by Edward Miller.

NY: Harper Collins.

-------------------------. 2000. The International Space Station. Illustrated by True Kelley. NY: Harper Collins.

Cole, Joanna. 1996. The Magic School Bus Out of this World: A Book about Space Rocks.  Illustrated by Bruce Degan. NY Scholastic.

---------------. 1992. The Magic School Bus Lost in the Solar System.  Illustrated by Bruce Degan. NY Scholastic.

Floca, Brian. 2009. Moonshot: the Flight of Apollo 11. NY: Atheneum.

Gibbons, Gail. 1999. Stargazers. NY: Holiday House.

Halpern, Paul. 2004. Faraway Worlds: Planets Beyond Our Solar System. Illustrated by Lynette Cook. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.

McNulty, Faith. 2005. If You Decide to Go the Moon. Illustrated by Steven Kellogg. NY: Scholastic Press.

O’Brien, Patrick. 2009. You are the First Kid on Mars. NY: Putnam.

Sayre, April Pulley. 2005. Stars Beneath Your Bed: The Surprising Story of Dust. Illustrated by Ann Jonas. NY: Greenwillow.

Simon, Seymour. 2007. Our Solar System (Revised Edition). NY: Collins.

Tomecek, Steve. 2006. Stars: Jump Into Science. Illustrated by Sachiko Yoshikawa. Washington D.C. : National Geographic

-------------------. 2005. Moon: Jump Into Science. Illustrated by Lisa Chauncy Guida. Washington D.C.: National Geographic

-------------------. 2001. Sun: Jump Into Science. Illustrated by Carla Golembe. Washington D.C. : National Geographic

Life Science Books for K-2 Children

 

Aliki. 1990. Fossils Tell of Long Ago. NY: Collins.

Arnonsky, Jim. 2010. Slow Down for Manatees. NY: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.

-----------------. 2009. Crocodile Safari. NY: Scholastic Press.

Aruego, Jose. 2002. Weird Friends: Unlikely Allies in the Animal Kingdom. Illustrated by Ariane Dewey. San Diego, CA: Harcourt.

From A Seed is Sleepy

Ashton, Diana Hutts. 2007. A Seed is Sleepy. Illustrated by Sylvia Long. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Bardhan-Quallen. Sudipta. 2009. Flying Eagle. Illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge Publishing.

Bernard, Robin, 2001. Insects. Washington D.C.: National Geographic Society.

Bonners, Susan. 1998. Why Does the Cat Do That? NY: Henry Holt.

Brenner, Barbara. 2004. One Small Place by the Sea. Illustrated by Tom Leonard. NY: Harper Collins.

--------------------. 1997. Thinking About Ants. Illustrated by Carol Schwartz. NY: Mondo.

Buchmann, Stephen and Diana Cohn. 2007. The Bee Tree. Illlustrated by Paul Mirocha. El Paso, TX: Cinco Puntos Proess.

Davies, Nicola. 2009. What’s Eating You? Parasites—The Inside Story. Illustrated by Neal Layton. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.

-----------------. 2005. One Tiny Turtle. illustrated by Jane Chapman. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Books.

------------------. 2005. Ice Bear: In the Steps of the Polar Bear. Illustrated by Gary Blythe. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Books.

------------------. 2004. Bat Loves the Night. Illustrated by Sarah Fox-Davies. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Books.

Dowson, Nick. 2007. Tracks of a Panda. Illustrated by Yu Rong. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick Books.

Dunphy, Madeline. 2010. At Home with the Gopher Tortoise: The Story of the Keystone Species. Illustrated by Michael Rothman. Web of Life Children’s Books.

Earle, Sylvia A. 1999. Hello. Fish! Visiting the Coral Reef.  Photographs by Wolcott Henry. Washington D.C. National Geographic.

Fredericks, Anthony D. 2002. In One Tidepool: Crabs, Snails, and Salty Tails. Nevada City, CA: Dawn Publication.

In One Tidepool: Crabs, Snails, and Salty Tails.

French, Vivian. 2010. Yucky Worms. Illustrated by Jessica Ahlberg. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.

Frost, Helen. 2008. Monarch and Milkweed. Illustrated by Leonid Gore. NY: Atheneum Books. 

George, Lindsay B. 1999. Around the World: Who’s Been Here? NY: Greenwillow/HarperCollins

Gerber, Carole. 2008. Winter Trees. Illustrated by Leslie Evans. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge Publishing.

Guiberson, Brenda Z. 2000.  Into the Sea. Illustrated by Alix Berenzy. NY: Henry Holt.

Hunter, Anne. 2000. What's in the Tide Pool? NY: Sandpiper.

Jenkins, Martin. 1999. The Emperor’s Egg. Illustrated by Jane Chapman. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.

Jenkins, Steve. 1997. What Do You Do When Something Wants to Eats You? Orlando, FL: Houghton Mifflin.

Jenkins, Steve and Robin Page.  2005. I See a Kookaburra! Illustrated by Steve Jenkins. Orlando, FL: Houghton Mifflin. 

Kelly, Irene. 2009. Even an Ostrich Needs a Nest: Where Birds Begin. NY: Holiday House.

Kurtz, Jane and Christopher Kurtz. 2002. Water Hole Waiting. Illustrated by Lee Christiansen. NY: Greenwillow.

Levenson, George. 1999. Pumpkin Circle: the Story of a Garden. Illustrated by Shmuel Thaer. San Francisco: Tricycle.

Lewin, Ted and Betsy Lewin. 1999. Gorilla Walk. NY: Lothrop/Harper.

London, Jonathan. 1999. Baby Whale’s Journey. Illustrated by Jon Van Zyle. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle.

Markle, Sandra. 2010. Hip-Pocket Papa. Illustrated by Alan Marks. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge Publishing.

Mastro, Jim and Norbert Wu. 2003. Antarctic Ice. Photographs by Norbert Wu. NY: Henry Holt.

McElroy, Jane. 2010. It’s Harvest Time! Illustrated by Tilde. NY: Simon & Schuster.

Micucci, Charles. 1997. The Life and Times of Honeybees. NY: Sandpiper.

--------------------. 1992. The Life and Times of the Apple. NY: Orchard.

Mortensen, Lori. 2009. In the Trees, Honey Bees! Illustrated by Cris Arbo. Nevada City, CA: Dawn Publications.

Nutt, Robert. 2010. Amy's Light. Nevada City, CA: Dawn Publications. Amy's Light Video Trailer.

Pfeffer, Wendy 1997. A Log’s Life. Illustrated by Robin Brickman. NY: Simon & Schuster.

Posada, Mia. 2007. Guess What Is Growing Inside this Egg? Minneapolis. MN: Millbrook.

---------------. 2002. Ladybugs: Red, Fiery, and Bright.  Carolrhoda. 

-------------------. 2000. Dandelions: Stars in the Garden. Carolrhoda. 

Richards, Jean. 2002. A Fruit Is a Suitcase for Seeds. Illustrated by Anca Hariton. Minneaoplis, MN: Millbrook Press.

Sanders, Russell Scott. 1999. Crawdad Creek. Illustrated by Robert Hynes. Washington D.C.: National Geographic.

Sayre, April Pulley. 2010. Turtle, Turtle, Watch Out! Illustrated by Annie Paterson. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge Publishing.

----------------------. 2001. Dig, Wait, Listen: A Desert Toad’s Tale. Illustrated by Barbara Bash. NY: Greenwillow Books.

----------------------. 1998. Home at Last: A Story of Migration. Illustrated by Alix Berenzy. NY: Henry Holt. 

Schaefer, Lola M. 2010. Just One Bite. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books.

Sidman, Joyce, 2006. Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow. Illustrated by Beth Krommes. Orlando, FL: Houghton Mifflin.

Stewart, Melissa. 2009. Under the Snow. Illustrated by Constance R. Bergum. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishers.

--------------------. 2009. What Animals Are Blue? Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Publisher.

Stockdale, Susan. 2008. Fabulous Fishes. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree Publishers.

--------------------. 1999. Nature’s Paintbrush: The Patterns and Colors Around You. NY: Simon and Schuster.

Voake, Steve. 2010. Insect Detective. Illustrated by Charlotte Voake. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick.

Winer, Yvonne. 2002. Birds Build Nests. Illustrated by Tony Oliver. Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge.