Skip to main content
Look up, look low
Hoban, Tana
Illustrations show scenes in nature from way up high and way down low.

Natural history
Goffstein, M.B.
The Earth and how humans are all interconnected is depicted through nature.

Buffalo bill and the pony express
Coerr, Eleanor
A young, determined Buffalo Bill uses his head to overcome nature and the dangers of the old west.

The pearl
Heine, Helme
A beaver dreams about a pearl. He dreams that he becomes so greedy that he destroys his friendships, the pond, and eventually the whole forest. When he awakens, he gets rid of the oyster he has without even opening it in order to save his friendships and the forest.

The sleepy dormouse
Ezra, Mark
Field mice live in such interesting places. The realistic scenery and twists of plot will keep children on their toes.

The blueberry bears
Lapp, Eleanor
Bessie loves to pick blueberries in the woods behind her house. She picks so many blueberries that every container is filled. The bears go to Bessie's house to eat her blueberries because she picked all of the blueberries in the woods!

Shaker boy
Ray, Mary Lyn
At age six, Celeb comes to live with the Shakers and he spends the rest of his life in their unique culture. He learns their ways, their songs, and is inspired by angels.

The chief's blanket
Chanin, Michael
After the rain, Flower longs for a day when she will see the great chief. When she has to make a blanket for him, she doubts her weaving skills. With her grandmother's love and encouragement, Flower makes the blanket. Will the chief ever receive such a gift?

In my garden
Eldridge, M.E.
A garden goes through many changes during the different months of the year. The garden has a wide variety of plants and wildlife native to England.

Africa calling
Adlerman, Dan
A young girl dreams of all the animals in Africa. The animals seem to capture her attention through their actions. The animals frolick in the dusk of beautiful Africa.

Sierra
Siebert, Diane
One of the Sierra Nevada Mountains speaks of all the life that she supports and the beauty of her fellow mountains.

Henry possum
Berson, Harold
Young Henry Possum has so much energy that he'll never learn to play dead. He makes many friends, but one is a wolf, so he soon discovers what his mother has been trying to teach him all along.

Meeting trees
Sanders, Scott Russel
A father takes his son on an educational walk through the woods stopping to look at all of nature's details. They identify different trees and leaves and see several animals along the way.

Rotten island
Steig, William
Rotten Island is the dwelling place for horrible monsters. It is full of bad and ugly things--and one beautiful flower.


A web in the grass
Freschet, Bernice
A lonely spider spins a web in order to catch some food. The spider is careful not to be caught by a toad or an owl. She lays an egg sac and hundreds of spiderlings are produced. The babies, like their mother, spin webs and wait to capture food.

Hey, little ant
Hoose, Phillip//Hoose, Hannah
While playing with his friends one day, a little boy spies an ant. As he prepares to squash the tiny insect, the boy listens to the ant's plea not to step on him.

Children of the forest
Beskow, Elsa
Four forest children learn about nature and their surroundings. Their days revolve around the light and the weather. The children also are taught lessons throughout their childhood.

Reflections
Jonas, Ann
The adventures of a child on the beach, in the woods, and various other places are described. When the book is turned upside down, the pictures make new pictures.

The mousehole cat
Barber, Antonia
In the fishing village of Mousehole, lives a cat and Tom the fisherman. They feast on great fish until a major storm comes and none of the fishermen can go out to sea anymore. Finally, the cat tames the sea with his singing and that allows Tom to go fishing before Christmas.

All ready for summer
Adelson, Leone
Let's watch different animals come out of hibernation and observe the changes in nature during spring and summer.

A good morning's work
Zimelman, Nathan
When Mitsuo hoes his garden, he finds rare things in nature which he tries not to harm. All the while, his dad makes sure he's working.

The little fir tree
Brown, Margaret Wise
A fir tree is cut down to be used as a Christmas tree for a boy with a handicap. After the holidays, the tree is replanted in the forest. Every year, the boy's father digs up the tree to be decorated. One year, the boy goes to the forest by himself to decorate a tree.

Small wolf
Benchley, Nathaniel
Small Wolf, a young Indian Boy, wants to become a man, so he goes off to the woods to hunt. While there, he finds white men who do not want to talk and they shoot at him. The tribe moves time and time again away from the white men, until there is no where else to move and their tribe dies out.

Come to my party
Richardson, Judith Benet
All the animals of the jungle are sleeping when a loud roar comes from a leopard who is having a birthday party. As a team, the animals of the jungle work together to create a present to bring to the party.

Swamp angel
Issacs, Anne
When Tennessee is plagued by a huge bear, the men sign up to hunt it. Angelica Longnder, also known as Swamp Angel, shows up too. Swamp Angel, the female equivalent of Paul Bunyan, saves Tennessee from the bear to everyone's surprise.

Where's the bear?
Barton, Byron
A girl finds a bear and tells her neighbors. Several people trudge through the woods asking, Where's the bear? They look for it in the woods and when they find it, it scares them. They run and the bear chases them. The bear is too scared to cross the bridge, so the people are safe.

The big box
Morrison, Toni//Morrison, Slade
Patty, Mickey, and Liza Sue just can't handle their freedom. The things they do frighten the adults around them. The adults decide to put them in a big brown box because they care about the youngsters. The children will have everything they need, except their freedom. Isn't that the one thing children need?

Bread is for eating
Gershator, David//Gershator, Phillis
When a little boy leaves bread on his plate, his mother reminds him how important bread is and the hard work that goes into making it. Through a song, children learn why they should not waste food, and how to be thankful for grain and bread.

Pumpkin pumpkin
Titherington, Jeanne
A little boy plants a pumpkin seed and watches it grow from a tiny sprout to a huge orange pumpkin. In the end, he picks the pumpkin and carves it for Halloween. However, he does save six seeds for planting next spring.

Possum and the peeper
Hunter, Anne
Possum is determined to find out who has awakened him and all his animal friends from their winter naps. They soon discover that the Peep!Peep!Peep! is coming from an ambitious frog who is ready to begin spring.

I celebrate nature
Iverson, Diane
Three children discover the secrets of plants, animals, and water. Exploring its wonder by using their senses, the children realize how precious and important it is to share nature, not destroy it.

The snow speaks
Carlstrom, Nancy White
When the first snow falls, the children know that winter is just beginning. To each child the snow means many different things. As Christmas nears, the snow means Christmas.

Quiet, please
Merriam, Eve
A variety of natural images are shown. These images ask the reader to pause and listen to their silent beauty.

Barnyard song
Greene, Rhonda Gowler
When some barnyard animals catch the flu, it is up to the farmer to nurse them back to health and restore the barnyard song to its usual splendor.

Listen to a shape
Brown, Marcia
Different parts of nature make many different shapes and sounds. Children can use their imaginations to create shapes in nature.

The selfish giant
Wilde, Oscar//Zwerger, Lisbeth
When a selfish giant forbids the neighborhood children to play in his garden, the only thing that remains is the cold winter season. However, one little boy opens the giants heart to kindness. The seasonal changes of the garden return along with the children.

Yuck
Stevenson, James
A little witch, Emma, wants to be like the older witches, but is always excluded. One day, out of frustration, Emma gets together with the animals in the woods and makes a plan. The animals pretend to be under Emma's spell and all the other witches think she is a hero.

The man who took the indoors out
Lobel, Arnold
A man is enjoying the outdoors and decides it is not fair that the things inside his house cannot enjoy the outside. So he took the indoor things out and they have many adventures.

Tim tadpole and the great bullfrog
Flack, Marjorie
Tim is a tadpole who feels sorry for himself because he can only swim and not jump. A bullfrog tells Tim not to be discouraged. Tim soon matures into a bullfrog and is able to jump.

Goose
Bang, Molly
One day, a goose egg falls into the home of woodchucks and hatches open. A goose is raised by the woodchucks and becomes part of their family. Eventually, the goose feels very sad and doesn't know why. When she ventures out to find happiness, she accidentally learns to fly.

When sophie gets angry--Really, really angry...
Bang, Molly
What do you do when you're angry?Sophie feels bad when she's angry. She wants to yell and kick and scream, but she runs outside to her special place instead. When she comes home, everyone is glad to see her and she feels much better.

The aunt in our house
Johnson, Angela
One day, aunt moves into the home of her nephew, niece, and their mom and dad. The children love their aunt and are so glad that she has moved in with them.

Basket moon
Ray, Mary Lynn
When a young boy learns through nature his purpose in life, he has a hard time dealing with it. He has to overcome peoples' judgement on the career he chooses. But in the end he comes to se the true meaning of his work.

In the forest
Ets, Marie Hall
A little boy goes for a walk in the forest. All the different animals he meets along the way follow him. His father finally tells the boy it is time he came home and the father promises he will be able to come back again.

Neeny coming, neeny going
English, Karen
Neeny and her mom move to the big city on the mainland. They leave behind the rest of their family including Neeny's best friend, her cousin. Neeny comes back for a visit but she has changed. However, on her last night on the island Neeny once again has fun with her cousin.

When the wind stops
Zolotow, Charlotte
A little boy questions the beginning and end of nature, and his mother helps him to understand that there truly is no end.

Emma's rug
Say, Allen
Emma is a talented child artist who always finds her inspiration in an old rug. After her mother ruins the rug by washing it, Emma must discover that she can still draw without it.

Lollopy
Dunbar, Joyce
Sophie, a young girl, takes her toy rabbit into the woods - disobeying her mother. She accidentally leaves him in the woods where he is hurt. Then some other rabbits try to fix him up. When Sophie gets back, she tells him never to go to the woods again.

Sad days, glad days: A story about depression
Hamilton, Dewitt
Amanda Martha's mother has a disease called depression. Amanda and her father call them sad days, glad days, mostly in-between days. Amanda wants a cuddly pet and when an alley cat comes along she finally gets a chance.