Question regarding Nature Readers

[materursa]

Does anyone know of a resource like the Christian Liberty Nature Readers that is secular?

 

Alternately, how pervasive are references to Christianity in them?

 

Thanks,

Amanda

[Nestof3]

They are a from a creationist standpoint -- credit is given to God for the different animals read about. If this really bothers you, I would suggest looking for a more evolutionary source. We are in Book 4, and I cannot remember a specific reference to Jesus (though don't hold me to that). So, what I'm saying is, I believe these books would work for many religions outside of Christianity as long as the person believes in creation.

 

Moreover, I will add that we read books quite often that say things that I just explain or skip over. I would think these books would work fine in the reverse as well. I am not an macro-evolutionist, but I still read books that refer to macro-evolution. Does that make sense?

[Trivium Academy]

When you say like the CLNR, do you want questions at the end of each chapter? Although fabulous books, they are dry in comparison to some of the other books we use. A few that I recommend are:

-Jean Craighead George's A Day in the _______ (Prairie, Rainforest, Desert, etc.)

-Books at YesterdaysClassics.com under the Nature tab, which you can see the insides of. These books have more of a narrative, story-telling style than the CLNR books do.

 

THe Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Comstock would be an excellent resource although it might be cumbersome in a child's hands and it does not have leveled, progressive reading. There are old, out of print science readers that read like the CLNR books, I can't think of the author's name right this second. Are there particular subjects you're looking for?

[Nestof3]

Wow, Jessica. We find them so interesting -- even more so than A Day in the _________ books. I agree that Yesterday's Classics are great.

 

Another book I am reading aloud right now is The Little Black Ant by Alice Crew Gall. It is out of print, but she writes wonderful narrative stories about animals. Her animals do talk, but it is quite amazing how much information one learns while reading them.

 

Here is a list of Alice Crew Gall's books.

http://www.valerieslivingbooks.info/gall.htm

[Trivium Academy]

Dawn,

We enjoy literary science books much more than a presentation of facts, that is why I prefer other books over the CLNR. Jean Henri Fabre and Arabella Buckley have spoiled us tremendously with their stories. For us we enjoy learning along with a character instead of being talked to by the author as in the CLNR books. There are tons of wonderful engaging books available on the market and thankfully, libraries still stock the out of print treasures ( most of the time ) that are equivalent to Landmark Books but for science.

[Nestof3]

Jessica,

 

I think you would really like Alice Crew Gall. :D

[Karen in CO]

Many of the stories include phrases like "God made.." and "God designed..." and such. Generally those sentences are more at the end of the story. From what I remember, they are in at least half of the stories.

 

We enjoy the Magic School bus books and chapter books for readers with science information. We also enjoy the Among the Meadow People and similar books.

 

We have found some wonderful picture books. My girls' new favorite is Where Butterflies Grow. My dd said it is like a poem with beautiful pictures. We are currently working our way through the rest of the Joanne Ryder science books.

 

 

A few other highly recommended science picture books:

Salmon Forest

The Big Rock

One Tiny Turtle

 

But, I haven't found a series of graded readers with science content like the Nature Readers which is why I still buy them every year and try to use them and end up dropping them.

[ElisabethGrace]

I just wanted to thank everyone for sharing the authors & links. It has been very helpful & expensive!:lol:

[Sparkle]

Does anyone know of a resource like the Christian Liberty Nature Readers that is secular?

 

Alternately, how pervasive are references to Christianity in them?

 

Thanks,

Amanda

 

 

Lepanto Press publishes a set of nature readers that are similar to Christian Liberty's. The publisher is Catholic but the books themselves are secular. There aren't any religious references at all except for a little blurb on the back cover. The books are Seaside & Wayside Book One, Animal Life Science Book Two, and Seaside & Wayside Book Three.

 

Lepanto Readers The books are the first, and the last two in the list.

[Kathleen in VA]

I loved the CLNR series - maybe it was because I learned so much stuff I didn't know.:)

 

Another series that is neutral about religion that my children loved is the ______________ do the Strangest Things series. There is one for insects, birds, fish and maybe some others that I am not thinking of. The reading is about 1st/2nd grade level, but the facts are so interesting that even if it is a bit too easy the books are still captivating. I think they are oop but you can pick them up used for not much money at amazon and abebooks.com. Here's a link for Insects do the Strangest Things.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Insects-Strangest-Things-Random-Step-Up/dp/0394800729/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220732333&sr=8-1

[Trivium Academy]

Ooooh, I love these. Thank you so much for sharing! ;)

[Trivium Academy]

Is this the same thing at Google Books?

Sea-side and Way-side by Julia Wright?

http://books.google.com/books?id=KJMAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA363&lpg=PA363&dq=Seaside+and+Wayside+Book+One&source=web&ots=aTO7VOQ0-9&sig=b3HBfjfyQxRwMa15BZgQr9nzEOU&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA364,M1

[Sparkle]

Is this the same thing at Google Books?

Sea-side and Way-side by Julia Wright?

http://books.google.com/books?id=KJMAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA363&lpg=PA363&dq=Seaside+and+Wayside+Book+One&source=web&ots=aTO7VOQ0-9&sig=b3HBfjfyQxRwMa15BZgQr9nzEOU&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=2&ct=result#PPA364,M1

 

 

Yes :)