Monthly
Special
The Great Outdoors
Suggested grade level listed with each entry
The Brook Book: Exploring the Smallest
Streams written and illustrated by Jim Arnosky (Dutton)
Clear, field guide–like illustrations and descriptions of
the rocks, animals, and plants that inhabit the environment allow
readers to wade through a brook in a naturalist’s frame of
mind. Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.
Tracking Trash: Flotsam, Jetsam, and
the Science of Ocean Motion by Loree Burns Griffin (Houghton)
This natural detective story grows from an anecdote about hundreds
of sneakers stranded in the Pacific Ocean; solid scientific explanations
of ocean patterns and discussions of tracking ocean debris and the
effect of ocean trash on the environment naturally follow. Grade
level: 4–6. 58 pages.
The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global
Warming by Laurie David and Cambria Gordon (Orchard/Scholastic)
Using kid-friendly metaphors and an accessible, engaging layout
and making feasible recommendations, David and Gordon speak plainly
and clearly about the causes and effects of global warming. Grade
level: 4–6. 112 pages.
The Story Goes On written by
Aileen Fisher, illustrated by Mique Moriuchi (Porter/Roaring Brook)
In a poetic, carefully paced text, this unflinching account of a
food chain pays attention to the intensity of each action, from
a seed dropping in the soil to a frog eating a bug. Grade level:
K–3. 32 pages.
The Wolves Are Back written by
Jean Craighead George, illustrated by Wendell Minor (Dutton)
George presents the results of the reintroduction of wolves into
Yellowstone National Park’s ecosystem through the eyes of
a wolf pup encountering the park’s diverse flora and fauna.
Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.
When the Wolves Returned: Restoring
Nature’s Balance in Yellowstone written by Dorothy Patent
Hinshaw, illustrated with photos by Dan Hartman (Walker)
This book about the revitalization of Yellowstone takes readers
through the park’s backstory, revealing the complex challenges
of environmental preservation. Grade level: K–3. 40 pages.
John Muir: America’s First Environmentalist
written by Kathryn Lasky, illustrated by Stan Fellows (Candlewick)
This lavishly illustrated biography presented in brief and logically
divided chapters captures both Muir’s reverence for the natural
world and his drive to preserve it. Grade level: 4–6. 48 pages.
Planting the Trees of Kenya: The Story
of Wangari Maathai written and illustrated by Claire A. Nivola
(Foster/Farrar)
After five years away from Kenya, Maathai returns to a despoiled
homeland and rallies women to plant trees, a movement that spreads
with breathtaking results and eventually earns her a Nobel Prize.
Grade level: K–3. 32 pages.
Trout Are Made of Trees written
by April Pulley Sayre, illustrated by Kate Endle (Charlesbridge)
While camping, two children and two adults encounter the plants,
animals, and bacteria of the ecosystem’s food web. Grade level:
K–3. 32 pages.
Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of
the Meadow written by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beth Krommes
(Houghton)
Eight pairs of "poetry riddles" present such related elements
as the spittlebug and the xylem sap it sucks from its host plant,
giving readers an interactive view of the meadow ecosystem. Grade
level: 4–6. 48 pages.
Song of the Water Boatman & Other
Pond Poems written by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beckie Prange
(Houghton)
From a spring peeper’s first call to a painted turtle’s
hibernation, these eleven poems celebrate the ecosystem of a northern
pond. Grade level: 4–6. 32 pages.
 
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