Science Nature Books

The book is written to keep the interest of every reader, but simple enough for the youngest child to understand. Experiments range from finding the bones in bird pellets, to extracting pigment from plants, to feeding sea anemones! There is an experiment just about every topic touched upon, using common tools and materials. Great book for hands on science.

I love this book. I am homeschooling my brilliant seven-year-old son using the classical curriculum recommended by Susan Bauer's book The Well-Trained Mind. When I started out the year, though, I still didn't have a science resource, so I went to the library. After renewing this book from my local library for months now, I am buying it. I don't know why I waited so long! This book is packed with full-color, two-page spreads on all the life science topics I will need this year and beyond. We have tried many of the experiments, and they are simple, inexpensive, and interesting.

Add more to Thanksgiving by sharing the stories of other cultures and understanding different traditions.

We have been reading this book over and over again at bedtime. My children are 5.5 and 2 and both of them love hearing about how different people around the world celebrate one of our favorite times of the year. As a bonus, it gives us all kind of fodder for unit studies! I can't wait till it's time to start reading the Shortest Day!

Even though we happen to be a Pagan family, any family would enjoy the history of the Autumn Equinox in this book. It's great to read what many ancient cultures did to celebrate the harvest and incorporate some into our modern life.

Wonderful Native American Tale at the end. Buy with the Winter Solstice book. I wish they would come out with the Summer Solstice and Spring Equinox!!!

This book not only provides beautiful photographs, but good comprehensive information too. The material is accessible and thorough and is enhanced by the stunning photography. If you're looking for basic information, this is a great resource.

Another superb title from the let's read and find out series. My 5 yr. greatly enjoys it, and is learning a great deal from it.

This book is a perfect introduction to volcanoes for K-2 level kids, and older kids or early readers may enjoy reading them alone. It is easy to understand and the illustrations are clear and nice-looking. Unlike some science books for kids, this series tends to be very readable, versus a drier text that may make some kids lose interest quickly.

The book was very good. My son just started second grade and he loves science. The book kept him very interested throughout. He has read it more than 5 times and continues to ask questions about the different new concepts that were introduced in the book.
Very good purchase!

Gerald Durrell has written quite a few books and this is one of the funniest. He travels to Africa to find rare and exotic animals and has laugh out loud funny adventures. He also has a serious message about preserving animals and their natural habitat.

This would be a good book for middle school type readers.

I could not recommend any book more wholeheartedly than I do "A Zoo in my Luggage", along with all books by Gerald Durrell. Young and old will find the information of great interest, the writing style hilarious and entertaining, and the geographic descriptions factual and vivid with local color. I have read all of his books when I was a young mother living in West Africa, and I have ordered these books now for my grandchildren to enjoy.

Gerald Durrell spent most of his life collecting interesting animal specimens and Durrell is an interesting human specimen himself. His well chronicled life (mostly chronicled by Durrell) begins with the hilarious, and very succesfull, "My family and Other Animals". It is ably followed up with the equally hilarious "Birds, Beasts and Relatives". Both books are full of tales from the Durrell family's years on the Greek Island of Corfu, pre WWII. Little Gerry dives right into the flora and fauna of the island, including its human fauna. I own very few nonfiction books with such a plethora of memorable characters. Now, of course, we get to the volume in question. It is plenty good, and worth multiple readings over years, as is "The Overloaded Ark" and several other books detailing trips to collect animals. A word of warning, don't go nuts and buy all the zillion Durrell titles. Some of them are out of print for a reason and were most likely dashed off by Durrell to finance a collecting trip or two...

Naturalist/writer Gerald Durrell, with a writer's eye for unusual detail, a great sense of humor and absurdity, and an unquenchable enthusiasm for finding unique animals, recounts his third animal-collecting trip to the Cameroons in this classic 1960 memoir, recently reprinted. Supplying other people's zoos for many years, Durrell, on this trip, intends to collect specimens for his own zoo, one which will be open to the public and which will become a "self-supporting laboratory" with a captive breeding program to prevent the extinction of these species.

Arriving on the west coast of Cameroon, Durrell uses pidgin to converse with the Africans and refers to all animals as "beef," but he soon acquires many rare animals from the local population. A frightening canoe ride through hippo-infested waters, an attempt to capture a fifteen-foot python, a search for the blue-scalped, bald-headed Picanthartes bird, and the experience of smoking out a hollow tree keep Durrell and his staff energized and excited before they head to the highlands. There, Durrell stays with the charming Fon of Bafut, a elderly king with many wives, and he and Durrell enjoy many long evenings of talk, dance, and whisky. Soon the Fon's compound fills up with hundreds more captive reptiles, birds, and animals, including a half-grown baboon, a five-year-old chimp, and a baby chimp, all of which provide innumerable, often hilarious adventures.

Durrell provides details about the care and feeding of these animals, and he and his staff prove to be very "hands-on" caretakers, often having animals creep into their beds. The logistics of building cages and, eventually, packing them for the trip home, reveal the level of detail necessary to keep these animals healthy and calm so they can survive the trip to England. Upon his return, Durrell then begins the daunting task of trying to find a place to house these rare specimens, a task he neglected ahead of time.

A lively writer with a commitment to conservation and a tremendous sense of fun, Durrell gives the flavor of the whole trip, not just the academic details, providing realism at the same time that he reveals irrepressible humor, much of it directed at himself. His sensitivity to his surroundings, which he conveys through vibrant descriptions, makes the countryside come alive, while his anecdotes about the animals and the people he meets show his interest in expanding his knowledge while fully participating in events around him. Though there is no epilogue to bring the reader up to date on the success of Durrell's zoo or its captive breeding program, this information is readily available at: http://www.durrellwildlife.org/index.cfm?a=11 Mary Whipple

Gerald Durrell's books have touched the hearts of naturalists for decades and I admit that I have only become a fan of his in the recent years. I was introduced to his books through my local used bookstore, where I was looking for copies of James Herriot's books that were not offered at my local bookstore, and decided to pick up a few and try them out.

His stories have a incorporated a vivid energy and hilarity into his passionate memoirs of unique nature experiences that will entertain any nature-lover. While some of his scientific practices may now be considered obsolete, we are given a rare glimpse into the love and respect for all things living that has been a core aspect of any naturalist throughout the ages.

I have since bought as many of Durrell's books that I have been able to find, and treasure each and every one of them.

If you are a squirrel fan,you will go nuts with this book! Good info.! Very thorough, and helpful, not to mention interesting! A must for your nature library.

I expected to see more photos in this book, however for fun or studying its really great book.

Very informative, but not dry. Never knew I needed an ultimate resource and go to book on squirrels, but bought it on the recommendation of a friend-- boy am I glad I did!

This book is packaged a bit like a children's book, as an "animal answer guide" with lots of pictures. It is written as a series of questions and answers, though the "answers" may go for several pages and read like regular text. The Q&A format is really more of an affectation.

While much of the book could be enjoyed by pre-teens who really love squirrels, the information is probably too detailed for them. High schoolers writing a report on squirrels - - for whatever reason - - would find it very helpful. However, it's really written for a general audience.

What then will you find in this book, gentle reader? In short: everything you ever wanted to know about squirrels, and then some. You'll learn not only about the fox squirrel in your backyard but other North American squirrels such as woodchucks and marmots. You'll also learn a bit about squirrels around the world, especially in South and Southeast Asia.

The book is full of black-and-white pictures on many pages, and has two collections of color plates in the middle of the book. The black-and-white pictures tend to aim to be informative, while the color pictures are often beautiful art shots. So, if you think squirrels can be a subject of High Art, this is your book.

Actually, it's a remarkably good book on an unexpected subject. It's not quite as good as some other animals books I've reviewed (on wolves, bison and locusts - - see my reviews), and it's not really a "classic" book for anyone. so I'll only give it 4 stars. But it really deserves 4.5. It's hard to imagine a better book on squirrels.

If you have an interest in any of the squirrels in North America, you'll like this book. I am enjoying it immensely, and I have read most of the really good squirrel literature available. This new book is excellent.

Somewhere in the advertising literature, it says that the book is in question and answer form. This nearly put me off and caused me not to order the book. Don't allow that to happen to you. It is simply that the titles to each short section of the book are in the form of questions. The text that follows these headings is excellent. I'm glad I bought it.

For readers seeking knowledge of tree squirrels, I would also recommend The Natural History of Squrrels by Steele and Arizona's Tree Squirrels by David Brown. That would be in addition to, not in place of, Squrrels: The Animal Answer Book.

I found this book simplistic and full of wishful thinking. Quoting 2000 year old scripture passages did nothing to enhance my knowledge of the natural world at all. It was a very disappointing read.

The phrase that titles this review is one frequently used by Dr. Goodenough. Beneath its elegance and poetry this beautifully constructed vision of natural law and our global siblings' spiritual response to "what is," is a strong sense of purpose driven by the imperatives of modern human life. In the face of environmental peril and the experience of millenia of fratricidal bloodletting, we must rethink the foundations of our religious and political institutions that separate us and turn instead to our common natural essence for a new form of religion will unite us.

I recommend this work for anyone able to read.

I loved this book and it's a refreshing thing for a thinking person to read.

Ursula Goodenough has produced a very rare bridge between non-theistic evolutionary science and religion where she expresses an understanding of the spiritual side of human culture while keeping her feet planted firmly on the science ground. Through what she calls 'religious naturalism' Goodenough seeks to show how natural reality abounds with natural 'miracles' that elicit 'religious' emotions without the need to belong to any particular religion nor believe in a god. More than this, she seeks to show how nature itself can provide every one of us with all that is necessary to be 'religious' in the sense of having a common planetary ethic, planetary wisdom and interconnectedness.

Religious people believe that existance without a god would be devoid of meaning, bleak and pointless. Goodenough explains how this absolutely does not need not be so and how, in fact, understanding how life works can fill existance with immense joy. She gives a clear, brief explanation of aspects of life from the origins of the earth to human consciousness and adds her own personal refections on the 'religious', though non-theist, way life makes her feel.

Mortality is one aspect of life that often spurs people to believe in a god and Goodenough explains the origins of mortality in the evolution of multicellularity and sexual reproduction with the resulting diversity of life. With multicellularity the germline cells are sequestered from the body cells which, not themselves going into the future, can specialize and create complex body parts including the brain. These body cells, and bodies, have a limited life ie "death is the price paid to have trees and clams, birds and grasshoppers, people and consciousness." Goodenough can therefore say: "my somatic life is the wondrous gift wrought by my forthcoming death".

I don't know how many people who are firmly in the non-theist or theist camp would find a bridge between the two as comfortable as Ursula Goodenough finds it but that is what makes this book essential reading for everyone.

It is refreshing to find a brilliant scientist who is willing to turn nature into poetry and spirituality. It shouldn't matter if you are an atheist or a deist, the description of the common bonds we have with the earth and the different species of the animal kingdom brings tears to your eyes. At the same time, we can have reverence and feeling for the profound desires of humans to communicate and feel intimacy with God who may well be a metaphor for the beauty of the gorgeous biological process.

We use book 1 and book 5 (for my 5th grader) and both children love them immensely. The first grader begs for me to continue reading about the different kinds of animals. It talks about animals that I didn't know about. It is not a science curriculum in and of itself but it is a great starting place and somewhere to build upon. Definitely recommended.

My 5 year old girl loves to read and though this reader has some words that are more advanced that what she has learned, she is able to read most of it. I like that this reader and the series are based on nature - it is refreshing to have the children read something that builds their understanding of the world around them. It provides a nice balance to reading fun, silly stuff like Seuss, which we love, too.

This is from a book series explaining the wonders of nature from a *Christian* perspective to children. I'd say this is appropriate for kids ages 5-7, depending on their ability to pay attention. Particular insects or animals are discussed in an old-fashioned but informative style. The book begins, "Children, did you ever think about how much your mothers do for you?...God also made mothers for many of his tiny creatures." The growth and habits are discussed of such creatures as wasps, bees, spiders, prairie animals, oysters, snails and many others. My 5yo son and I read all or part of a chapter every day for some time. He gained knowledge of these creatures as well as several difficult vocabulary words. I really recommend them.

If I remember correctly, James Mooney has taught physics to boarding school kids in New England for 20 years, so there's no doubt that this book is as good as, possibly even better than, Princeton Review, which most people buy for AP Physics. There were two reasons why I chose to use this book although I owned PR as well.

This book is twice as thin as Princeton Review. Some may attribute PR's thickness to the fact that it contains materials for both B and C. However, the apparent thickness is important because it often determines whether one finishes a book.

Secondly, the pages were white. In other words, the book was not made from recycled paper(like PR). This feature had a cathartic effect on my studying. Had I chosen to stare at gray-looking pages for eleven hours on one particular Sunday I remember, I would have thrown it at the wall.

This is a great review for the AP Physics student! Mooney does a great job condensing the material tested in the Physics C exam in both the Mechanical and E&M areas and provides great examples to drive home the concepts. I would suggest this book to any student as a supplement to their classroom textbooks.

I bought several AP Physics books to supplement my daughter's physics class at school. After buying 4 AP guides, 2 textbooks, looking up the openly available free response questions for the last 7 years,and the available multiple choice questions, I found this book to be the best guide for the Physics C exam.

The author does an excellent job of presenting the material in a way that is very similar to the material available from prior actual tests.

There is no doubt that the author's strength is in the calculus based approach to the exam (which after all is what the Physics C exam is supposed to be about). His methods are clearly presented and easily understood. Importantly, he doesn't overly focus on the mathematics by presenting every possible physics - calculus connection. Just the ones that you need to know.

The physics concepts themselves are also well done. The problems are quite clever but yet test the simple concepts of physics well. My impression is that the actual test is similar in this regard. In essence the format is (a) do you know the concept that is being tested?, (b) can you efficiently solve the problem in one, two, or three steps? The author is able to reproduce this format. My last piece of advice is to avoid the fairly basic guides claiming to cover both the Physics B and C exams, as they are good for the Physics B but NOT for the Physics C exam. This is book is far superior (see my other reviews).

This book is a handy little pocket guide. There is a beginning key to direct the user towards the right type of dragonfly, and useful information and descriptions of the anatomy of the insect. There is no way a book this size can include every species; they make sure they have enough representatives of each family that if you do not find the one you are looking for you can at least narrow the search to the family before looking further. This is a nice and inexpensive guide.

I bought this book because it received good reviews at this site. I knew virtually nothing about dragonflies/damselflies at the time. I love this book because it is small enough to carry in the field and the illustrations and other info are detailed enough to identify those little critters IF they rest long enough for a good view.

Although I already had other more advanced books, I am glad that I bought this book also. It is well laid out, and very helpful to a newcomer to Odes. This book delves into many aspects of the Dragonfly life cycle, and contains many useful photos.

This concise little guide is designed with the beginner in mind with its tons of information on distinguishing the difference between dragonflies and their cousins the damselflies. It come replete with lots of large photos of many of the major species of Odonata. Its only shortcoming is that is tends to lean more to species of the eastern United States. For this reason, family species like the Setwings, among others, are omitted.
Especially helpful is the introduction and easy id charts on the inside of front and back covers. This little book is worth its weight in gold on account of these charts alone!

Stokes does it again. Great first time book if you are interested in Dragonflies and Damsflies. Has great pictures and U.S map of where they live. I truly enjoy looking at this book over and over again. Great size for traveling or just having in you backpack.

Rather brief story, but an excellent introduction for the reader in grades 1-3 who is interested in archaeology. Good coverage of major points for this age range--what archaeology is, types of objects likely to be found, that the work continues into the lab, etc. I just wish there was something this good to introduce the same ideas for upper elementary students--I thought about using this story with an older group because the concepts were introduced so well, but decided they would find the story too juvenile.

As a soon to be teacher, and part time archaeologist, this is by far the best book about archaeology for young kids I have found. It gives accurate information in fun, easy to understand language. My students were always interested in my summer and weekend work outside of the school. It was wonderful to find a book I could share with them that was not over their heads. My archaeology professor from college even borrowed it to share with his entry level classes.

This book is part of the Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series, which has more than 80 titles. The Stage 1 books explain simple and easily observable science concepts for preschool- and kindergarten-age children. Stage 2 books, which includes this title, explore more challenging concepts for children in the primary grades and include hands-on activities that children can do themselves. "Archaeologists Dig For Clues" is well-conceived and informative, with bright cartoon drawings. It is formatted a little like the "Magic School Bus" books, more for upper elementary kids.