SilverMoon Posted January 30, 2020 Share Posted January 30, 2020 Anyone have suggestions or a good booklist for earth/astronomy at a middle school level? 🙂 Real books, living books, non-fiction, book books. Not so much curricula unless it's a gem. I'm trying to build a solid set for my book dragon and most of what I'm finding is lower elementary or high school. She'll be 7th grade by age and strongly averse to the typical science schoolbook and experiments. The "read through this large pile of books and discuss it with Mom" method is her jam. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emily ZL Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 H A Rey (of Curious George fame) wrote two picture books on Astronomy: The Stars (which is apparently what they start with at MIT in Astronomy) and Finding the Constellations. I love astronomy, and I found The Stars fascinating, but it is at a very high level. It is essentially an intro college course in picture book form. But it may be perfect for a kid with a real interest. For my 4th grader, we used Finding the Constellations as a supplement to MP astronomy. I liked that one, and it's clearly written for kids. I also bought an augmented reality star gazing app so we would always know which stars we were looking at and be able to make the books we were reading come alive a little better. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverMoon Posted February 12, 2020 Author Share Posted February 12, 2020 (edited) Yay! Ideas! 😂 I'll look them up. 🙂  From her older siblings I know I have a few biographies, and the Stephen and Lucy Hawking series. 365 Starry Nights. From what I can remember it's going to last her a month at best. Kid #5 and she's reading me out of house and home. 🤷😄 Edited September 5, 2023 by SilverMoon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoo Keeper Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 (edited) My very visual kids enjoyed these (maybe they can buy you some breathing room between books...): Universe 365 Days Astronomy 365 Days DK Universe: the Definitive Visual Guide Space Atlas: Mapping the Universe and Beyond ETA: tired to fix links... Â Edited February 14, 2020 by Zoo Keeper 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted February 13, 2020 Share Posted February 13, 2020 There are a lot of free space apps for smart phones. DH is partial to Heavens Above, which sounds like a cult but isn't. He loads it up, holds it to the sky and then identifies every light we can see. It is fun to see satellites or the ISS fly over. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Scientists in the Field series has several good ones. I'm reading Mysterious Universe: Supernovae, Dark Energy, and Black Holes with my dd right now. We read the Hubble one before this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted March 27, 2020 Share Posted March 27, 2020 If you are not YE: "Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe" was thoroughly enjoyed by my older. Not a children's book. I'm kicked out of the living room at the moment b/c of online lessons; when I can get back in, I'll add in his favorite recent astronomy book -- it was very picture-oriented AND had cool science. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El... Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 I love these threads. Keep my bookshelf growing, guys! 🙂 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serendipitous journey Posted April 7, 2020 Share Posted April 7, 2020 On 3/27/2020 at 1:43 PM, serendipitous journey said: If you are not YE: "Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe" was thoroughly enjoyed by my older. Not a children's book. I'm kicked out of the living room at the moment b/c of online lessons; when I can get back in, I'll add in his favorite recent astronomy book -- it was very picture-oriented AND had cool science. Well, THAT took me forever! Sorry. Here's the recommendation: Cosmic Menagerie. It was a gift from a relative. Another book, with more reviews and by the same author, is Atlas of the Universe -- this one is on my wishlist. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted April 8, 2020 Share Posted April 8, 2020 Dd and I are listening the Astrophysics for Young People in a Hurry. https://stories.audible.com/discovery 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bevwdi Posted April 9, 2020 Share Posted April 9, 2020 My older kid who really loves Astronomy liked Isaac Asimov's Guide to Earth and Space, which has a good Google preview here, and you could contrast it with several challenging real world activities such as "build a telescope" or "make her own planisphere" or some sort of long running observational project. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carrierocha Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 I am building an earth/astronomy/meteorology course for my high schooler and middle schooler for next year. This on classical astronomy is fantastic: https://www.amazon.com/Seasons-Understanding-Elements-Classical-Astronomy/dp/097922110 We are going to use Eric Sloane’s book on weather as it is meaty, for a non textbook, but visually engaging. We are also going to get a Roadside Geology book for our state.  That’s what I have so far 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El... Posted April 30, 2020 Share Posted April 30, 2020 4 hours ago, carrierocha said: I am building an earth/astronomy/meteorology course for my high schooler and middle schooler for next year. This on classical astronomy is fantastic: https://www.amazon.com/Seasons-Understanding-Elements-Classical-Astronomy/dp/097922110 We are going to use Eric Sloane’s book on weather as it is meaty, for a non textbook, but visually engaging. We are also going to get a Roadside Geology book for our state.  That’s what I have so far I hadn't heard of roadside geology! I'm taking notes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted May 5, 2020 Share Posted May 5, 2020 We enjoyed Signs and Seasons. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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