Bonus Bibliography: Be a Nature Detective

Dig Hole, Soft Mole: by Carolyn Lesser
(Science)
Harcourt 1996 (32p)
Poetic text follows a star-nosed mole, an animal that lives in wetlands, as it makes its way through an underground tunnel and into a pond.
Rabbits & Raindrops: by Jim Arnosky
(Science)
Putnam 1997 (32p)
When five baby rabbits and their mother shelter from the rain underneath a hedge, they are joined by other creatures like butterflies, hummingbirds, and grasshoppers.
Amazon ABC: by Kathy Darling
(Science)
Lothrop 1996 (32p)
From the agouti to the zorillo, dazzling photographs reveal an exotic array of animals found in the Amazon Rain Forest.
Kangaroos Have Joeys: by Philippa-Alys Browne
(Science)
Atheneum 1996 (32p)
A rhyming introduction to the names for the offspring of rabbits, seals, deer, and other animals.
Some Sleep Standing Up: by Susan Stockdale
(Science)
Simon 1996 (32p)
Animals sleep in many different ways, including upside down and with their eyes open

Jack's Garden: by Henry Cole
(Science)
Greenwillow 1995 (24p)
Cumulative text modeled after “The House That Jack Built” relates how Jack plants and nurtures a wildflower garden.
Around the Pond: Who's Been Here?: by Lindsay Barrett George
(Science)
Greenwillow 1996 (32p)
As siblings Cammy and William follow a pondside trail to pick blueberries, they spot evidence of and try to guess the identity of the unseen animals that have been there before them.
Where Once There Was a Wood: by Denise Fleming
(Social Studies)
Holt 1996 (32p)
Land that was once home to red foxes, herons, waxwings, and other wildlife becomes a housing development.
Big and Little: by Steve Jenkins
(Science)
Houghton 1996 (32p)
Comparisons of animal pairs like the domestic cat and the tiger show that animals related to each other can vary greatly in size.
Rebel: by John Schoenherr
(Science)
Philomel 1995 (32p)
After wild geese hatch their eggs on a pond island, one adventurous gosling keeps wandering away.

What Color Is Camouflage?: by Carolyn Otto
(Science)
Harper 1996 (32p) also paper
Readers learn how different animals' markings and colorings help to hide them from their enemies.
How to Be a Nature Detective: by Millicent Selsam
(Science)
Harper 1995 (32p)
Readers learn how to identify different cats, dogs, rabbits, frogs, and other animals by their tracks and other clues that they leave behind.
Secret Place: by Eve Bunting
(Social Studies)
Clarion 1996 (32p)
In the midst of a city, a young boy finds a special place where ducks nest and possums come to drink.
Those Amazing Ants: by Patricia Brennan Demuth
(Science)
Macmillan 1994 (32p)
Readers discover that some ants are babysitters and others are soldiers in this fascinating look at the world of ants.
In the Snow: by Huy Voun Lee
(Multicultural)
Holt 1995 (32p)
A mother teaches her son Chinese characters by drawing them in the snow.
Pond Year: by Kathryn Lasky
(Science)
Candlewick 1995 (32p)
Two friends enjoy exploring a pond and its changes through all the seasons of a year.

Animal Dads: by Sneed Collard III
(Science)
Houghton 1997 (32p)
Striking paper-cut illustrations of nineteen dads of the animal world are accompanied by brief text that explains some of their responsibilities.
All About Deer: by Jim Arnosky
(Science)
Scholastic 1996 (32p)
The naturalist Arnosky provides information about bucks, does, and fawns, including how big they are, what they eat, and what their antlers are made of.
The Magic School Bus Inside a Beehive: by Joanna Cole
(Science)
Scholastic 1996 (32p)
When their magic school bus turns into a beehive, Ms. Frizzle and her class change into honeybees and learn how bees make comb, honey, and beeswax.
Creepy, Crawly Caterpillars: by Margery Facklam
(Science)
Little 1996 (32p)
A close-up look at thirteen caterpillars and how they turn themselves into moths or butterflies.
All About Owls: by Jim Arnosky
(Science)
Scholastic 1995 (32p)
An introduction to the owl and its mysterious night world.

A Pinky Is a Baby Mouse: by Pam Muñoz Ryan
(Science)
Hyperion 1997 (32p)
Rhyming text introduces children to familiar and lesser-known names for over one hundred baby animals, and asks them to guess the names for some of the animals.
Fireflies, Fireflies, Light My Way: by Jonathan London
Viking 1996 (32p)
Fireflies lead a child through a nighttime world of leaping bullfrogs, playful otters, and squawking wood ducks in this rhyming story.
Sun Song: by Jean Marzollo
Harper 1995 (32p)
Each day the sun greets everyone and everything before bidding goodnight and slipping away.

A Log's Life: by Wendy Pfeffer
(Science)
Simon 1997 (32p)
A felled oak tree becomes a source of food and shelter for animals and insects before it decays, becomes a mound of earth in which an acorn is buried, and the cycle of its life is renewed.
If You Should Hear a Honey Guide: by April Pulley Sayre
(Science)
Houghton 1995 (32p)
Readers follow the repeated calls of a honey guide through the wild bush lands of Kenya to a bee's nest full of golden honeycomb.
Nights of the Pufflings: by Bruce McMillan
(Social Studies)
Houghton 1995 (32p)
After the pufflings hatch on their island off the coast of Iceland, a young girl named Halla and her friends help the pufflings that lose their way make it safely to the sea.
On the Wing: by Douglas Florian
Harcourt 1996 (48p)
Roadrunners, green catbirds, Emperor penguins, and woodpeckers are a few of the birds featured in a collection of twenty-one humorous bird poems.
The Magpie's Nest: by Joanna Foster
Clarion 1995 (32p)
This spirited folktale reveals how different birds build their nests.

Pond Year: by Kathryn Lasky
Candlewick
How to Be a Nature Detective: by Millicent Selsam
Harper
Small Green Snake: by Libba Gray Moore
Orchard
Nights of the Pufflings: by Bruce McMillan
Houghton
Think of a Beaver: By Karen Wallace
Candlewick
V for Vanishing: An Alphabet of Endangered Animals: by Patricia Mullins
Harper
Antler, Bear, Canoe: A Northwoods Alphabet Year: by Betsy Bowen
Little
Dear Mr. Blueberry: by Simon James
Aladdin
It Could Still Be a Tree: by Allan Fowler
Childrens
A Walk in the Wild: by Lorraine Ward
Charlesbridge
At Home in the Coral Reef: by Katy Muzik
Charlesbridge
Spoonbill Swamp: by Brenda Guiberson
Holt