Heather in VA Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Let's help fill that book basket. There are zillions of lists of great literature and historical fiction. But when it comes to non-fiction and science ... not as much. Share some great books to put in a book basket for this 'math, grammar, read' approach. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 :iagree: Thanks, Heather! Looking forward to responses! These would be things that a 9 yr old child could read on his/her own and enjoy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted July 29, 2012 Author Share Posted July 29, 2012 :iagree: Thanks, Heather! Looking forward to responses! These would be things that a 9 yr old child could read on his/her own and enjoy. You're welcome but it was also selfish - I have a 9 year old too and I want to know for us as well :-):lol: Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Yes, I enjoyed your geog living books thread! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted July 29, 2012 Author Share Posted July 29, 2012 I just found this blog entry that looks interesting. I haven't looked at the books in depth to know the reading level for sure but there are a lot of choices.... http://appliejuice.wordpress.com/brain-suff/living-book-list-for-science/ Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mo2 Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 I'm definitely :bigear: for this! A science website (maybe Scientific American?) we occasionally visit recently listed these books that every parent should buy: The Flying Machine Book: Build and Launch 35 Rockets, Gliders, Helicopters, Boomerangs, and More Scholastic's Discover More series The Ultimate Book of Saturday Science: The Very Best Backyard Science Experiments You Can Do Yourself Ocean Sunlight: How Tiny Plants Feed the Seas Disclaimer: I haven't had a chance to look at any of these books yet, but thought I'd throw the list out there to get the ball rolling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 (edited) I am familiar with a bunch of those books and the reading level is pretty low for most-GREAT books though! And there are some on there that would work-Archimedes, Bowditch-we did these as readalouds this yr-they would have been a little hard for him as read alone. Diary of Early Amer, etc-good as readalouds. ETA: I meant the books on the blog, not the ones mo2 mentioned! Definitely going to order some from that blog though-great list. Just be aware that the reading level is all over the map so look at them on Amazon first. I think it's hard to find non-fiction books that are just the right level for a 9-10 yr old who is not an interested reader. Most non-fiction books usually seem to be either above or below level. Edited July 29, 2012 by HappyGrace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted July 29, 2012 Author Share Posted July 29, 2012 And if you are willing to do projects, I have fallen in love with books from Nomad press. They have both history and science. I have a few of the history ones and they are readable with great information and fun projects as well. We are going to use a bunch of them for history but I may end up doing some of the science ones as well. http://nomadpress.net/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Cool! I've never seen the Nomad stuff before. I can't find samples on the site though-link me, please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted July 29, 2012 Author Share Posted July 29, 2012 Most of their books have the 'look inside' feature on amazon. Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Duh, thanks-I had only looked on their site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chelli Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Here are three science based books that would be on that level. I used them as read alouds for my dd in 1st and she loved all three! The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle The Kid Who Invented the Trampoline The Truth About Poop I know this one sounds really gross, but it was actually a very interesting book that combines history and science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 The View from the Oak - Kohl. This was the first nonfiction book Miss P read on her own after we started hsing (4th grade). It is wonderful, kind of ethology/zoology I guess, about the world from the point of view (spatial, temporal) of all the different critters that live in and around an oak tree. She also really like How Whales Walked Into the Sea by Faith McNulty (about evolution), and the Bobbie Kalman science readers - we did Ecology last year, so she read What is a Biome, What is the Animal Kingdom, What are Food Chains and Webs. They are very readable but very informative. Those are the standouts that she read on her own. We also really enjoyed The Magic of Reality by Dawkins, but that was a read aloud. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aurelia Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 The One Small Square series and Basher books are good for a child about that age to read on their own. I've also found Keeping Clean, A Very Peculiar History to be interesting and informative. There are a couple of other books in the series, I think. The Story Book of Science and Fabre's Book of Insects might be a stretch, but are informative. Books like CHOW, A Picturesque Tale of Progress and SOTW could also be read by the student. Ariel really enjoys and has learned from Britannia: 100 Great Stories from British History and D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths. There's also the Horrible History, Horrible Science and Murderous Maths books, and the Magic Treehouse Research Guides, which cover all kinds of science and history topics in a way that's kid-friendly. For geography we have The Amazing Pop-Up Geography Book ad A Child's Introduction to the World (which we both think is neat because it includes a pop up globe!). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mommyfaithe Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Living math.com is awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Vicki Cobb has good science stuff for that level. Once you're in that section of the library, just peruse the shelves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Here are three science based books that would be on that level. I used them as read alouds for my dd in 1st and she loved all three! The Kid Who Invented the Popsicle The Kid Who Invented the Trampoline The Truth About Poop I know this one sounds really gross, but it was actually a very interesting book that combines history and science. These are super good! My dd enjoyed reading them last year (age 12), but they probably span ages. They're quirky and narrative. Our library keeps them in the teen non-fiction section, which is a really interesting place to look when your kids take that step up from juvenile. I've just found I underutilized the library over the years. Their teen section is actually really fascinating. Tends to be smaller, so it's easy to go in and find a gem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kokotg Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 We're drawing some from these lists this year: http://www.nsta.org/publications/ostb/ostb2011.aspx National Science Teachers Association publishes a list of outstanding science books every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted July 29, 2012 Author Share Posted July 29, 2012 The One Small Square series and Basher books are good for a child about that age to read on their own. I've also found Keeping Clean, A Very Peculiar History to be interesting and informative. There are a couple of other books in the series, I think. The Story Book of Science and Fabre's Book of Insects might be a stretch, but are informative. Books like CHOW, A Picturesque Tale of Progress and SOTW could also be read by the student. Ariel really enjoys and has learned from Britannia: 100 Great Stories from British History and D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths. There's also the Horrible History, Horrible Science and Murderous Maths books, and the Magic Treehouse Research Guides, which cover all kinds of science and history topics in a way that's kid-friendly. For geography we have The Amazing Pop-Up Geography Book ad A Child's Introduction to the World (which we both think is neat because it includes a pop up globe!). YES!! My daughter loves the Magic Treehouse Research guides. And I just looked up the Amazing Pop-Up Geography Book and I am in love! Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
my2boysteacher Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 GuestHollow has some super non-fiction science and history books on her site that go along with her free curriculum. We used her chemistry book list to supplement our summer chemistry unit, and my boys are loving the books! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Another Lynn Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 I agree with PP who mentioned the One Small Square series. I think 4th grade is probably two old for the Let's Read and Find Out (though they may still enjoy them) and possibly too young for Tiner's Exploring the World of .... books. (But thought I'd mention them anyway :D). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sagira Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Books by Alvin and Virginia Silverstein: http://www.amazon.com/Alvin-Silverstein/e/B001IOFEEO For the younger set, we greatly enjoy the Let's Read and Find Out Science series and anything by Jim Arnosky. Gail Gibbons and Aliki are other good nonfiction authors who also write about science. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knittinfarmgirl Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 The One Small Square series and Basher books are good for a child about that age to read on their own. :iagree: My 9yro son loves the Basher books. He's asked for more for his birthday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crazyforlatin Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 I have a basket of rotating science books that I find at the library. At this moment, I have the following: Jean Craighead George's The 13 Moons series Seymour Simon books, such as The Human Body and Lungs Theodore Gray's The Elements Jim Arnosky's Creep and Flutter Basher's Chemistry Catherine Thimmesh's Girls Think of Everything; and a couple of picture books such as Jason Chin's Coral Reefs and Redwoods, although these do contain enough information to interest a 4th grader. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stripe Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 My son has gotten a lot out of reading an almanac! (In his case, the National Geographic Almanac for Kids.) This has provided a lot of information about all sorts of miscellaneous matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Jo Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Love this thread (and the original). These are some books I'm considering (short list because it's from my bookshelves): * Child's History of the World * Holling C. Holling books * CLP Nature readers; some of the selections in their Eclectic readers are also non-fiction * James Baldwin books * Find the Constellations (this is part of our science, we might team read it) * The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk (Scholastic - for later in the year) - I'll probably be looking for more biographies of scientists & inventors - my eldest LOVES to build things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Smith Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 An Imponderable book. http://www.amazon.com/David-Feldman/e/B000AQ3DUI/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1343608258&sr=1-1 Don't start with "Why Don't Cats like to Swim" because it is a reprint of his first book. So some of the Imponderables are a bit out of date. (1980 - mentions things such as record players...) I find these books can make nice read alouds because they have the look and feel of a chapter book. So no side bars, no extra information in boxes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyGrace Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Thanks to everyone for the recommendations! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicholas_mom Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Great thread...... George's Key to the Universe by Stephen Hawkins George's cosmic Treasure Hunt by Stephen Hawkins George's Big Bang by Stephen Hawkins My son loves space! Also, The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet by Eleanor Cameron Stowaway to the Mushroom Plant by Eleanor Cameron Mr Bass's Planetoid by Eleanor Cameron A Mystery for Mr. Bass by Eleanor Cameron Time and Mr. Bass by Eleanor Cameron He is now into Ancient Egypt and is reading "The Red Pyramid" by Rick Riordon I am checking out what others listed now :) Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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